The Sneaky Way Grocery Store Aisles Get You To Spend More Money

If you're one of those people who has absolutely zero willpower when you head into a grocery store and always leave with a full cart when you only meant to pick up a few items, you're in good company. It happens to the best of us, and why not? No matter which grocery store is the most popular in your state, these places can make our lives a lot easier with small services like grouping complementary food items together to give shoppers dinner ideas. However, this handy hack is also a clever trick to get you to buy more than you might need or want.

Ever visit the produce section at the height of summer and see packs of fully cooked bacon placed near the tomatoes? This is an obvious push to make shoppers think of BLT sandwiches and is called cross merchandising. It is a clever ploy by supermarkets to remind customers of tasty food pairings and inspire them to buy two products instead of one.

So, in this example, someone going into the grocery store for tomatoes might be reminded of how good BLTs are, so they'll pick up the bacon, too. But, then they'll also remember they don't have any bread or mayo, either, which is perfect for the grocery store and causes consumers to spend even more time browsing the aisles. 

If you're on a strict budget, or simply don't like to be taken in by supermarket marketing tactics, listen up. You can stave off the alluring effects of cross merchandising by making a grocery shopping list and sticking to it as best you can. If you're familiar with your store's layout, create sub-headings by department or aisle in the order you'll travel through them. This way, you'll stay cool, calm, and collected as you navigate the supermarket, knowing exactly where to stop for what you need and avoiding what you don't.

You can also get into the habit of asking yourself, "Am I really going to make (insert meal idea here), or does it just sound good because I'm hungry?" If you're actually going to make those BLTs, awesome — you've just solved the everlasting problem of what you're going to have for dinner (for tonight, at least). Pick up the bacon, the bread, and the mayo, too. But, if you're really honest with yourself, and you know you already have dinners planned for the next few days, then this might be just an impulse brought on by clever upselling. With a bit of thought and an awareness of how supermarkets use marketing techniques, you can train yourself to put back those extra items and save yourself some hard-earned money.