If you're handed a basket when browsing a store, it's not just a kind gesture on the retailer's part, experts reveal. Photo / 123RF
If you're handed a basket when browsing a store, it's not just a kind gesture on the retailer's part, experts reveal. Photo / 123RF
Insiders have revealed the crafty tricks used by supermarkets to make customers spend more on their grocery shopping.
In a fascinating thread shared on question and answer site Quora, food market workers revealed the ways in which shoppers are encouraged to part with their money, the Daily Mailreports.
Ariel Dreyfus, a Business Administration student from South Carolina who analysed their behaviour, revealed stores will avoid placing clocks around the aisles, much like casinos, to avoid reminding customers of the time.
Meanwhile, British assistant psychologist Aishah Hannan noted the lighting is brighter around the fruit and vegetable aisle to make them appear "bright and healthy" and essentials such as milk are placed towards the back of the store.
She also revealed that stores use music and colour to influence the mood, with slow music encouraging shoppers to relax their pace. The colour yellow is said to encourage hunger.
Elsewhere, Kimberley Susan, a British social media worker for Instagram, confessed that Black Friday deals weren't as great as they appeared, explaining only the items that are coming to the end of their shelf life or not selling well will go on sale.
Interestingly Kimberley also revealed that the pharmacy may take extra long to process your order to give you more time to browse around the store and pick up extra products.
Bangladeshi expert Ranijitha Venkat also addressed shoppers being handed baskets or bags, a common practice in places such as Sephora or Claire's Accessories, explaining that it plays on your "loss aversion bias", meaning you will feel more hesitant to part with products picked up.
And even children aren't safe, with British product manager Anita Pyke arguing that placing children's seats in a large shopping trolley or even providing fun cars for kids is just another way to encourage parents to spend longer in the store and in turn spend more.
British assistant psychologist Aishah Hannan revealed on Quora that stores will avoid placing clocks around the aisles. Photo / Quora
Aishah also revealed that stores use music to influence the mood, with slow music encouraging shoppers to relax their pace. Photo / Quora
She explained that stores use colour to grab shoppers' attention, with red used for sales, yellow said to encourage hunger and blue used to encourage trust. Photo / Quora
Aishah went on to reveal that grocery stores will place the sweets at eye level for children. Photo / Quora
Ariel Dreyfus, a Business Administration student from South Carolina, noted that the lighting is brighter around the fruit and vegetable aisle to make them appear 'bright and healthy'. Photo / Quora
