How they make you buy

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It’s 3 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon. You go to a supermarket to buy a few things you need: just coffee, milk and eggs. You take a trolley and that’s your first mistake. Now you won’t feel the weight of the things you buy, so you might buy more. And the trolley is so big and deep!

You go into the store and first you pass beautiful flowers and plants. Then you see the fruit and vegetables. Those red, green and yellow peppers look so delicious and fresh. And they’re on special offer. Perhaps you’ll take just one packet. And then you come to the bread counter. Oh, that fresh bread smells so good! Much better than yesterday’s bread at home. Perhaps you’ll just buy ... And so it goes on.

                      Notes from the marketing managers

1 Displays of fruit, vegetables and flowers just inside a store are common. They give customers a feeling of healthy living before they reach the other ordinary items. 

2 Special offers near the entrance help shoppers start shopping. And when the first item is in the trolley, there will soon be more. 

3 The store is often painted green. This gives shoppers that natural feeling. Bakery, fish and delicatessen counters also offer fresh, healthy goods.

4 Many large supermarkets now sell other goods, for example clothes and electrical products.

5 Milk, eggs or butter are always at the back of the shop. So shoppers must pass many things that are nice but that they don’t really need.

6 Big brand names and items like precooked meals are very profitable, so they are often clearly displayed to get the customer’s attention.

7 Magazines and sweets are at the checkouts where shoppers have to wait. And that is where they see the information about the other services the supermarket offers such as cheap travels or mobile phones.

8 Paying with the supermarket’s own credit card is so easy. Buy now, pay later. A lot of supermarkets give you loyalty cards. You can collect points and with the points you can get some money back or free gifts. So please come back very soon.