Frugal Tips for Supermarkets
The experts who design Supermarket layouts are not your financial friends if you are trying to be frugal. The thinking that goes on in the heads of the marketing experts who are in charge of setting up grocery stores is amazing. There primary goal is to separate more of your money from you than you originally planned before walking in their supermarket. It is estimated that two-thirds of what the American consumer purchases in the supermarkets is not what they intended to purchase before walking in. In all aspects of the grocery store`s layout -- from the produce and floral displays near the front entrance to the dairy case in the back to the candy at the register -- it is all intentionally designed to stimulate the shoppers senses. Read on to learn what tricks and teases the major supermarkets set up to try to make you buy more than you intended to purchase.
Flowers - Flowers are here to enhance the store image and they look pretty, smell fresh and generally make people feel good. Buy flowers at grocery stores only for convenience, the prices are usually lower than florists but they are not as fresh.
Produce - Produce is always the first isle that you see. It is first to create a tempting sensory experience and the stores want to convince shoppers that produce is fresh, or else people won't buy anything from their store.
Bakery - The bakery gets smells great and this is to get your salivary glands flowing while shopping. It is a fact that if you shop when you are hungry you will buy more food than you needed. Experts suggest that you eat before you go shopping.
End Cap Displays - These are prime real estate in the supermarkets on the ends of the aisles. This is where the big advertisers will pay to have their products placed and they usually advertise them as "specials".
Banks - Banks are here for one reason, to get more money in the shoppers hand! Set a budget and bring a calculator and shopping list with you. This will keep you on track.
Pharmacy - If you are filling a prescription at your supermarket you will need to wait for it to be filled. Most people will spend time walking around and will almost always put another item in their grocery basket.
Frugal Grocery Tips
Buy enough of a sale item to last 12 weeks. That’s about how long sales take to cycle.