10 Clever Tricks Supermarkets Use To Seduce You Into Buying More Things

Supermarkets or the place where you wonder how the hell did so many things got into the cart when you were just going to buy eggs and bread.

Supermarkets are smart. They are designed in a way that you spend more money than you planned to spend, and most of the people fall for it – without even knowing that they were hustled.

The next time you are in a supermarket, just observe and look for the following tricks they employ –

1. They will always keep related things adjacent each other

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You wanted to buy milk and eggs, and the next thing you know your face is buried in the refrigerator where they keep their butter and cheese.

You cannot eat just butter, and voila! bread is right there alongside the butter. And then there is the cheese spread right alongside it and then the toaster you planned to buy too, but it seemed too expensive.

 

2. The market always plays sweet and soothing music to get you into a good mood

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The same music you use during a romantic date is playing through the speakers and suddenly you are in love with the marvelous apples and the whole wheat atta.

You probably do not have the cash for everything you put in the cart, but you say – “What the heck? I will pay with my credit card.”

Soothing music brings down your inhibitions and relaxes you, making your wallet lighter.

 

3. They give away free samples so that you will buy the product

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“What is this marshmallow thing?”

“Sir, go ahead and taste it.”

“For free?”

“Yes, sir!”

“I do not have to pay any money to eat this?”

“No sir.”

“Chal! jhoota kahin ka!”

Free samples make you feel pampered and the product is usually an expensive one. And 100% of the times, it will taste so awesome, you will want to buy it.

 

4. Discount cards do not really have any value

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“Sir, you are our platinum customer, our bond is forever. You are valued sir!”

“Aww, that is the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in a decade!”

Discount cards do not really give you discounts on regular quantities. You can only avail of the discounts if you spend a lot or buy bigger things – like a jumbo bottle of your favorite soft drink. They have made you buy a lot already and giving those measly discounts do not really matter anymore.

 

5. There are always delicious things near the billing counter

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The dirtiest trick in the book, they always have chocolates and candies and cigarettes right near the counter. You probably spent 780 rupees on your whole shopping and then you see all the candies.

This is where you will probably impulse shop for another 20 rupees to make it a round figure of 800 rupees as the total bill.

 

6. The price tags are always misleading

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If the apples cost 500 rupees a kilo, they will probably not put that on the price tag.

They will put it as 125 rupees for 250 grams. It is only when you take three apples you realize that you just bought a kilo, thinking that the three probably weighed just 250 grams.

Now it gets embarrassing to go back and put the extra apples back, because it may make you look like a cheapskate, and you will go ahead and buy it anyway.

 

7. They always keep the expensive products at eye level

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For example, in the shampoo section, the expensive shampoos will always be kept at the eye level. All the ayurvedic ones, which are probably good for your hair are always kept on the bottom shelf.

And when you have the cart in front of you, you will not stoop to get a better look at things on the bottom shelves and will go for the expensive choice.

 

8. You will lose track of time because there are never any clocks inside

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There are not a single clock in the supermarket, and you are probably too busy to check yours because all your attention is on the wonderful products put row after row. The next thing you know, you have spent a good hour inside that place.

 

9. All the candies and chocolates are kept in reach of children

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This is the reason kids lose their shit when you take them with you to a supermarket. They always seem to heap on candies and chocolate inside your shopping cart and you never realize how they are doing it because you cannot really see the chocolates at your eye level.

 

10. The shopping carts are either too big or too small

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The shopping carts are either too small or too big. You never find a medium sized shopping cart, do you?

You either end up buying too much for a small shopping cart or too less for a giant one, and for the latter case, you feel like you have to buy a bit more to make it reasonably full.

The next time you enter a supermarket, look for these tricks. Chances are that you will realize that they are tricking you.

And chances are also that you may end up buying a lot because these tricks are so sly and efficient.

Happy shopping!

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