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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

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