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the eyes<br />
have it<br />
Just as when we read, the study<br />
from Which? showed that we<br />
scan supermarket shelves from<br />
left to right. We start at eye-level<br />
and will only scan up or down if<br />
we don’t find what we’re looking<br />
for. This is why products aimed<br />
at children are often found on<br />
lower shelves. It’s also the reason<br />
supermarkets place big brands<br />
and more profitable own-brand<br />
ranges at the level most adult<br />
eyes most naturally fall, placing<br />
cheaper items in more<br />
awkward-to-see areas.<br />
The supermarkets also try to<br />
deliberately disrupt this sideto-side<br />
gaze by using vertical,<br />
brightly coloured banners which<br />
draw your eye to whatever<br />
they’re promoting.<br />
consumer news<br />
Crafty layouts<br />
There’s a good reason that<br />
everyday essentials such as<br />
milk and bread aren’t handily<br />
hanging about at the front<br />
of the store. Putting these<br />
towards the back forces<br />
shoppers to walk down all the<br />
aisles and hopefully get sidetracked<br />
by other items along<br />
the way. Meanwhile, fruit and veg are often placed near the<br />
front so you shop there first and then don’t feel so guilty<br />
about buying less healthy foods later.<br />
Aldi and Lidl’s Specialbuys of non-food items, placed in<br />
the aisles in the middle of the store, are another clever way<br />
of diverting us in the middle of our shop to tempt us with<br />
all kinds of goodies we didn’t have on our shopping list. And<br />
then, just as you’re about to make it out of the store, at the<br />
tills you’ll find low-cost items from chocolate bars to tissues<br />
to entice a last-minute impulse buy.<br />
Did you know?<br />
Shopping trolleys, first<br />
invented in 1983, are<br />
now purposely much<br />
larger than the average<br />
family’s weekly shop to<br />
encourage you to buy<br />
more than you need<br />
How to beat the tricks<br />
n Make a shopping list and stick to it<br />
n For pricier items, look online to compare<br />
the price difference between brands<br />
n Have a budget in mind before you go –<br />
shopping with cash could help too<br />
n Don’t shop when hungry<br />
n If you’re only doing a quick shop,<br />
pick a basket rather than a trolley so<br />
you’re less likely to buy extra<br />
The happy<br />
triangle<br />
Experts say there are three<br />
factors at play in how satisfied<br />
we find a shopping trip: how<br />
much money we manage to<br />
keep, how little time we spend<br />
and how little angst we feel.<br />
While retailers often can’t get all<br />
three of these, they compensate<br />
for the one or two they’re<br />
missing by adjusting the others.<br />
This is why we’re likely to feel<br />
better about spending more on<br />
a purchase that has been quick<br />
and stress-free and can accept a<br />
little frustration or queue to get<br />
something at a great price.<br />
it’s a fact<br />
Studies show<br />
shoppers are<br />
30 per cent<br />
more likely to<br />
buy items at the<br />
end of the aisle,<br />
making it a prime<br />
spot for those<br />
enticing multibuy<br />
deals and pricier<br />
products<br />
YOURS n EVERY FORTNIGHT<br />
25<br />
PICs: getty images, masterfile, alamy stock photo