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New Day Cafe - The Psychology of Grocery Shopping [1]

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Date: 2025-04-17

My arm has been sufficiently twisted, so here I am with a new contribution to the Cafe. I wanted to write about the way people can be lulled into buying items without really thinking about what is on the label. But first it’s helpful to step back and look at the entire store.

We are probably all aware, on some level, that stores are laid out in ways that not only make shopping convenient, but also lead us to buy a few extra things along the way. I’m going to link to two articles. The first article is written from the viewpoint of store owners and suppliers.

The Psychology Behind Store Layouts

-Place popular or high-margin products along pathways to increase their visibility and encourage impulse purchases. - Use flexible display cases to help shape customer flow and navigation. These versatile fixtures can be easily adjusted or moved to adapt to changing store layouts, creating designated areas for featured products, seasonal promotions or new arrivals that attract customers’ attention and direct their flow within the store. - Place complementary products together or arrange items in a logical sequence to encourage customers to explore related products and increases the likelihood of cross-selling. - Use end cap displays and eye-catching signage at the end of aisles to draw customers' attention and guide them to different sections of the store. - Place tempting displays of products near the store exit helps to naturally guide customers towards the checkouts while providing opportunities for last-minute impulse purchases.

The next article is written from a consumer’s point of view.

Supermarket Psychology: How Stores Influence Your Shopping Behavior

Store layouts are carefully crafted to maximize your exposure to products and encourage impulse purchases. It’s like a real-life version of a video game, where the prize is your hard-earned money. The science behind store layouts is both simple and devious. Essential items like bread, milk, and eggs are often placed at the back of the store. This forces you to walk past tempting displays and potentially pick up items you didn’t intend to buy. It’s a bit like going to a party just to say hello to the host, but ending up chatting with everyone else along the way… Ever noticed how certain brands always seem to be right at eye level? That’s because this prime real estate is where products are most likely to catch your attention and end up in your cart. Eye-level placement is the holy grail of product positioning. Brands often pay a premium for this spot because it works...But here’s a pro tip: look up and down. Often, cheaper alternatives or store brands are placed on higher or lower shelves.

And of course things that kids want are going to be on the lower shelves.

My favorite take is the use of certain key words to induce people to click or to buy without even thinking about it. Y’all have seen my numerous examples (400 and counting) of the use of the words stunned and stunning in news headlines. Media people use those words because they work.

In grocery stores, the word is classic. I noticed it way back in the 1980s, and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. I was the most unsurprised person in the world when the New Coke fiasco ended up with Classic Coke. To me, the outcome was inevitable.

I now have quite the collection of pictures of classic items from grocery stores. With no further ado, here is a small sampling.

Dessert first: Classic chocolate!

More dessert: Ice cream cones!

Who knew that flavored syrup could be both classic and gourmet?

We can’t leave the dogs out.

Certainly not the cats.

Classic sauerkraut? Of course.

Buying flowers for a loved one? By all means, do not commit the faux pax of buying non-classic roses.

Two new ones from this week’s shopping trip:

Not sure whether the fish is classic, or the crunchy breadcrumbs.

I was so tempted. They are half price this week.

What to make of it all? What does the word classic mean? Sure, we can find plenty of dictionary definitions, none of which are of much use in a grocery store.

I contend that classic means nothing at all. Decades ago, marketers discovered that it’s a harmless word that makes people feel all warm and fuzzy, and eager to buy. That’s it.

Your opinions and comments are invited.

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