Psychological tactics in supermarkets: How they make you spend more

Supermarkets are designed to encourage customers to spend as much as possible. The store layout and the construction of individual elements are not random but the result of a carefully developed plan. One crucial part of this plan is the wheels on the carts.

Most people do a large grocery shopping at least once a week. Typically, the plan is simple: buy a few necessary items and get out as quickly as possible. In practice, however, it often ends with a full cart and a substantial bill. Why does this happen? It's all due to psychological tricks employed by supermarkets. What exactly is going on?

Your contact with the first tricks begins before you even enter the store. A row of carts at the entrance greets you — usually too large for your needs, but no alternative is nearby. Worse still, some have problems with the wheels — they wobble, get stuck, or do not move smoothly. This is not a coincidence. Because of the wobbly wheel, you move slower between the aisles, which gives the store an advantage right from the start.

The slower you move, the more products can catch your eye. Promotional offers await at the end of each aisle, and discounts are incredibly enticing. Soon, you start filling your cart with items you didn't plan to buy because they are at attractive prices. Furthermore, the enormous cart makes it seem almost empty, so you add more products.

Have you also noticed that supermarkets rarely have windows and clocks? This is a deliberate tactic to keep you in the store, as the sight of darkness outside could hasten your shopping. Another psychological trick is calm, relaxing music, which makes you move slower and spend more time in the store, making the shopping experience more enjoyable.

Also, pay attention to the arrangement of products on the shelves. The most expensive and profitable products are at eye level, while cheaper ones are on lower shelves, where we rarely look. However, there is an exception.

Expensive sweets are placed lower so that children can easily reach them. Clever, right? It's tricks like these that make you end up with bags full of products you don't need. Sometimes, we even forget why we came and returned home without the needed item, only to head out shopping again, and then the story repeats.