THE next time you go food shopping, you may wish to take a second look at the layout of the supermarket.
According to a Architecture and Design expert, every shelf and aisle of a supermarket has been designed to carefully manipulate you to spend more money.
Reeves Connelly, who studied architectural design at the Pratt Institute, shared: “The amount of thought that goes into grocery store design, from a psychological and marketing standpoint, is absolutely wild.”
First up, there is a specific reason why fruit and vegetables are often located at the front of the store, according to Reeves.
Speaking to his 730,000 followers on his @reevcon account, he claimed: “Grocery stores will place the produce section right at the entrance so you’ll grab the fruits and vegetables first and then hopefully feel less guilty about grabbing junk food later on.”
And that’s not all.
Reeves said there is also a reason why milk and eggs are rarely at the front of a supermarket.
He explained: “You might have also noticed that essential items like milk and eggs are deliberately placed all the way in the back of the store so that you’re forced to walk through other aisles to get to them.
“And they make sure to fill the ends of the aisles with a lot of unhealthy options like snacks and sodas to make sure you come across them while on your way to the essential items.”
The architectural graduate said supermarkets will often target kids with their product placement.
He added: “Another way that they get you to spend more money is by arranging the cereal aisle so that the sugary cereals are at a child’s eye level so they’re more likely to grab one while the healthier options are way up top.”
Meanwhile, you may have noticed that the only way to reach the exit is often by awkwardly walking through the checkout lanes.
Reeves explained: “Well it’s to discourage you from leaving without buying anything.”
There could even be an explanation as to why you often can’t find your go-to products when you go in shop.
Reeves said: “They are very much aware that these tactics become less effective after you visit the store a few times and get a better sense of where everything is.
“So they’ll regularly move the products to different aisles to disorient you.”
Grocery stores will place the produce section right at the entrance so you’ll grab the fruits and vegetables first and then hopefully feel less guilty about grabbing junk food later on
Reeves Connelly
And finally, the size of your trolley can also impact a supermarket’s sales, according to the TikToker.
He continued: “Some grocery stores have doubled the size of their shopping carts over the last decade because a study found that doubling the size results in a 40 per cent increase in sale.”
His video has racked up over half a million likes, and people were quick to comment.
One person said: “their little tricks always work on me.”
Another added: “crazy how some people are paid to make people poorer and unhealthier.”
Richard Jackson from Housetastic suggested how you can avoid being sucked into spending more money.
He told Fabulous: “Start with going into the supermarket with a strict list and don’t allow yourself to be tempted to stray from this.
“When looking for products on your list, keep an eye across all the shelves to find cheaper yet similar products and any good promotions or deals which may otherwise have been missed.
“Another tip to keep in mind is to look for products that are damaged and nearing their use-by date.
“If you present this to an employee, and you have a valid point, then the employee will have the authority to reduce the good for you.”
The time supermarkets reduce their products vary across stores.
Here’s a rough supermarket-by-supermarket guide:
Aldi
Aldi uses a red sticker to show reductions on fresh products such as bread, meat, fruit and vegetables.
This is when they have reached the last day of shelf life.
Red stickered items are most commonly found at opening and closing times.
M&S
Reduction times can vary from store to store but is most likely to occur near closing time.
Asda
Asda told Which? that yellow stickers are applied twice a day – in the morning and evening.
Co-op
Co-op told The Sun its reduced-to-clear prices are generally applied about four hours before the store closes.
Lidl
Lidl has a similar procedure to Asda and Aldi with reductions twice a day.
However individual stores may opt to reduce prices throughout the day.
Morrisons
Shoppers online have said that Morrisons does the best bargains first thing in the morning.
However the store told Which? that there is no specific times for yellow sticker price cuts.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s told The Sun it’s at the store manager’s discretion whether to offer discounts.
However shoppers have reported that the best deals are in the evening from 6pm.
Tesco
Tesco has said there is no specific time for reduction, but again most people found that prices were reduced from 6pm.
Waitrose
As with most of the other stores, shoppers have said the best reductions are found before closing.
However the store stated that there is no specific time for yellow stickers to be applied.
