I have this mental image as I write this, let me share. Picture it, you’re in a video game and the goal is to leave the store with the exact items on your list and you ONLY have 20 minutes, but between the front door and the exit, you get wooed by the lights, colors and sounds, little processed food guys try to get in your way, re-routing you through aisles you don’t even want to be in, offering extra coins with high ticketed sale items, and de-railing your mission with all kinds of other temptations along the way…and just like that, wah wah wah…your time is up- GAME OVER!
When we think about food habits our thoughts typically veer towards how we eat on a day-to-day basis, but have you ever considered that your local supermarket may play a role in triggering your purchasing behavior?
From where coffee is homed to why the dairy section is always on the complete opposite side of the store, there is even research behind the exact moment shoppers become more impulsive and emotional with their purchases, that is 23 minutes, if you’re curious. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, I promise you this is real. But, like most businesses grocery stores want you to spend more money and in truth we need our farmers to make money so they can continue to provide fresh produce and we also need our supermarkets, as our lives have become quite dependent on the accessibility of food at our fingertips. BUT, in light of trying to make better choices I think it’s important that we understand the hidden messages and how much of what we buy is truly in our control.
Food is expensive these days and the cost of your health even more so. Knowledge is power. So let’s get started.
PRIMING
Implicit priming “where one stimulus influences a subsequent response to another stimulus.”
Think about the first items you are exposed to in the store, maybe flowers, and market carts sets up with the bright selection of fruits and vegetables.
According to Professor Jane Bowden of Macquarie University, filling up our carts with nutritious produce at the beginning of our shopping experience gives us the psychological green light to indulge in snacks and confectionary pleasures later on.
The vibrant colors, the music, the flowers and the fact that we just did something positive for our health all act as a pat on the back and make us feel good, and when we feel good, we are more open to suggestions.
TRUST
The area just past the fresh produce is an open space where you will find the bakery, the fish stand and the butcher. These are designed to make you feel like you are buying from your local specialty shop and according to consumer psychologist Dr. Paul Harrison , buying from our local shops implies they are trustworthy- “You can trust us because we make stuff.”
Well frankly, it’s all downhill from there..
PRODUCT PLACEMENT
If the only other item you may need is milk or butter, you are not in luck. Typically the dairy section is set up intentionally at the opposite far end of the store. This isn’t just because they didn’t consider your needs when designing the blueprint, as I may have thought a few times in the past. (Silly me)
Coffee and cereal are placed in “low traffic” areas to give you the time you need to select one of the 110 sugar packed colored boxes subliminally screaming “pick me”, and in truth, you probably deserve it because you bought your veggies already, right? Coffee is located in the middle of an aisle so you have to pass by other high ticket items on the way in and out.
When you’re done, the aisle leads you to the best part, the “end caps” or “nudges”, prime real estate for companies selling their packaged food. Big yellow and red signs enticing you with time limited sales on things you never even thought you needed until now, items sold in these areas of the store are likely to sell 8 times more product. In addition, when you grab that high ticket item at a discount, you get all the good feels: the shoppers dopamine rush. I can feel a round of applause in my mind, because who doesn’t like a good deal?
JEDI MIND TRICKS
All our essentials are dispersed around the store encouraging us to go through as many aisles as possible. According to psychologists, this motivates us to maximize our time in the store. Why? Because we all have a breaking point.
I know you know what I’m talking about, that sudden feeling of being overstimulated, and slightly overwhelmed.
Dr. Paul Mullens from Bangor University illustrates this theory using a brain scanning technology (fMRI) in a simulated grocery store setting and concluded that it takes about 23 minutes for consumers to switch from using cognitive brain power to emotional. The cherry on the cake is that it typically takes a shopper 40 minutes to get from start to finish and by then, our brain is exhausted, and our rational thinking has gone right out the window.
“ Oh look, 2 for 1 on Oreo Cookies!”
THE FINAL ROUND- CHECKOUT
The experience would be amiss if it didn’t capitalize on your incredible vulnerability while waiting in line to pay. Tired and incapable of making rational decisions, where better than to set up the impulse check-out shelves? Filled with chocolate, candy, chips, and gum that we can indulge in to reward ourselves for making it.
Ok, now that I have demonized your grocery experience, I’d like to share a few tips on how you can beat the odds and come out unscathed.
- MEAL PLAN AHEAD OF TIME: Identify what ingredients you need to complete these meals/ snacks.
- PRE-CHECK FOR DEALS : Show up armed, knowing exactly which items are on sale, will help derail you from other sales that may be taking place. Get that dopamine rush from item you actually need.
- SET YOUR BUDGET: Why does this work with healthy food? If you set your budget and follow your list, which includes the necessary ingredients for your planned meals then spending anything extra would leave a meal incomplete. If you and your credit card can’t be trusted, bring cash.
- ORDER FOR PICK UP: If this is something you are comfortable with, order online. (WITH YOUR LIST IN HAND ;))
- DON’T GO SHOPPING HUNGRY: I should add tired as well, but life….right? It happens, but if you have a list put on your blinders and just go, go, go and aim to leave within 20 minutes.
Business Insider: The Psychology Behind Supermarkets
CHOICE (www.choice.com.au) Supermarket psychology- tactics to get you to spend more
Hustle Escape: Supermarket Psychology: How they use science to make us spend more