15 ways stores trick you into spending

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15 ways stores trick you into spending

By The Simple Dollar

Ever notice how you can go to a store to pick up just one thing and

then, by the time you get to the check stand, you have five or six

things in your cart and a bigger bill than you had anticipated?

This happens over and over because department stores use an array of

techniques (grocery stores use many of the same tactics) to get you

to pick up these items. By itself, each technique isn't very strong --

it's the use of them in combination that is powerful.

Here's a list of 15 of the best tricks. After the list, watch for 10

ways to combat these techniques so you can get in and out of stores

with your finances intact.

1. Shopping carts. Most department-store customers enter the store

intending to buy only an item or two, but the shopping carts are

right there by the entrance and, oh, wouldn't it be convenient to

have it so I can lean on it a bit while walking around and to put my

stuff in it?

The cart has a huge bin compared with the size of most items for sale

in the store, making it psychologically easy to toss in an item you

don't need -- after all, there's room for plenty more, right?

2. Desirable departments are far away from the entrance. Most of the

items I go to a department store to buy, such as light bulbs and

laundry detergent, are located many, many aisles from the entrance.

This means I spend my time walking by a lot of consumer goods on my

way to find the item I want.

Because these consumer goods are effectively marketed to me, there's

a good likelihood that I'll spy something that I don't necessarily

need and toss it in the cart.

3. The toy section is far, far, far away from the entrance.

Naturally, if I take my son to the store, he wants to visit the toy

section. He gets excited and starts shouting " Ball! Ball! " to me when

we go in because he remembers the enormous plastic balls in the toy

section.

I tell him that if he's good, we'll go look at the balls, and at the

end of the trip, we usually make our way over there. What do we see?

Lots of children in that area, which means that there are parents

that follow their children.

4. Impulse-oriented items are near the checkouts. Stores stock the

latest DVD releases and " froth " magazines there, along with

overpriced beverages and candy.

Why? Because people leaving the store are thirsty, and they're going

to be standing in line for a bit, which is the perfect place to hook

them with some entertainment options.

5. The most expensive versions of a product are the ones at eye

level. Take a look sometime at the arrangement of different choices

for a particular product, such as laundry detergent. Almost every

time, the most expensive options per unit are placed at eye level, so

you see them first when you enter an aisle. The bulk options and

better deals are usually on the bottom shelves.

6. Items that aren't on sale are sometimes placed as though they are

on sale, without using the word " sale. " I noticed this over and over

with diapers; the department store would display a rack of them with

a huge sign above them displaying the price, but it would be the same

price I paid for them a week ago. Unsurprisingly, the diapers

displayed like that were always the most expensive kind.

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7. Commodity items, such as socks, are surrounded by noncommodity

items, such as shirts and jeans. If I'm looking to buy some socks, I

have to traverse through a number of racks full of different types of

clothing in the clothing section just to reach them.

Why? If my mind is already open to the idea of buying clothes, I

would be more likely to look at other clothing items.

8. Slickly packaged items alternate with less slickly packaged items.

Look carefully at an aisle of, say, potato chips. The ones with the

bright and slick packaging are generally more expensive, which isn't

surprising.

But notice that there usually isn't a section of just inexpensive

chips -- in most stores, they're sandwiched between more-expensive

items. If there is a section of just inexpensive items, they're down

by your feet (think about the inexpensive bagged cereals at your

local supermarket).

9. Stop, stop, stop. You add items to your cart only if you stop,

right? So stores are designed to maximize the number of stops you

have to make: aisles in which only two carts can fit, colorful and

attractive layouts, escalators and, my favorite of all, sample

vendors. Even if it's not conscious to you, every time you stop

moving in a store, you increase your chances of putting something

into your cart.

Video: 4 'off-the-menu' bargains

10. Staple items are placed in the middle of aisles, nonessential and

overpriced items near the end. Why? If you enter an aisle to get

a " staple " item (i.e., a high-traffic item), you have to go by the

other items twice -- once on the way in and once on the way out. That

gives these items two chances to make their pitch at you.

11. Prices are chosen to make comparison math difficult. Instead of

selling the 100-ounce detergent for $6 and the 200-ounce detergent

for $11 (making it easier to figure out the better deal), they sell

the 100-ounce for $5.99 and the 200-ounce for $10.89.

Hey, look, they're basically the same, right, because five is half of

10? Uh, no.

12. Stuff in bins isn't always a bargain. Higher-end stores will

sometimes put items in " bins " to emulate the bargains found at

cheaper stores, but the prices are still quite high. They just use

the visual cue of a " bargain store " to make you think it is a bargain.

13. High-markup items are made to look prestigious. If you see

something in a glass case that has lots of space around it, your gut

reaction is to believe that it is valuable and prestigious to own,

and for many people it can be as attractive as a light to a moth. The

truth is that these items typically have tremendous markup -- you're

literally just buying an idea, not a product.

14. The most profitable department is usually the first one you run

into. Ever noticed that at Younkers, JC Penney, Kohl's and such

stores, the cosmetic department is front and center? That's because

it's very profitable, and by putting it in a place where people walk

by time and time again, customers are more prone to making a purchase

on an item with a very big markup.

15. Restrooms and customer services are usually right by the exit or

as far from the exit as possible. Why? If you need to use either one

in the middle of a shopping journey, you have to walk by a lot of

merchandise to reach the needed service, thus increasing your chances

for an impulse buy.

Want to see more? Look at this presentation on the art of department-

store layouts to get an idea of how much thought goes into making

sure you buy more, particularly those items that are marked up a lot.

I didn't even get into some of the more complex techniques, such as

sensory marketing, that are more subtle and harder to avoid.

How can I fight back?

Is there any wonder why people end up buying more than they need or

buying sizes that are poor deals? With an array of techniques at

their disposal, retailers can make a mint.

Had enough? Here are 10 things you can do to fight back against these

techniques:

1. Don't use a shopping cart unless you need it. A cart, most of the

time, is just a place to put stuff you don't need. If you're carrying

a product, you're a lot more likely to consider whether it's a

worthwhile purchase.

2. Make a shopping list and stick to it. A list makes you focus on

the items you intended to buy. Without it, you are much more prone to

wandering and stumbling into " great buys " that you don't really need.

3. Look at nothing but the prices and sizes. That's all the

information you really need -- everything else is marketing. Find the

one that has the best price for its size, get that one, and move on.

4. Start at the back and work toward the front. If this is an option

at all for you based on the store layout, do it. When you go in, head

directly for the most distant item, then progress back toward the

checkout aisles. If you do it the other way, you're prone to walk

more slowly and tiredly toward the front after your shopping is done,

leaving you open to lots of impulse buys on the way.

5. Always look at the bottom shelf first. If you've found the section

you want, start looking at the bottom shelf first. This is usually

where the better per-unit deals are.

6. Don't stop unless you're actively selecting an item. Displays are

designed to beg you to stop for a moment and just look, which is

often enough to get you to pick out the item. Even if something looks

interesting, keep walking. You can study it as you go past and make

up your mind later about the item.

7. Never go by an item twice unless absolutely necessary. If you go

down an aisle, start at one end and continue all the way out the

other. Walking by an item once lets it sink into your short-term

memory, giving just a hint of familiarity when you walk by it again,

sometimes just enough to persuade you to buy it.

8. Carry a pocket calculator -- or know how to use the one on your

cell phone. Do the math yourself to find out what the best buy is

because stores try to choose numbers that make drawing false

conclusions quite easy.

9. If you don't know for sure that it is a good deal, don't buy

because you think it is a good deal. Stores use all kinds of visual

cues to make you think something is a bargain when it's not (like the

bin trick mentioned above). Don't buy anything because it's a " deal "

unless you're sure that it really is an excellent bargain -- just

walk away.

10. At the checkout, rethink everything you put in your cart -- and

don't hesitate to hand an item to the cashier and say you've changed

your mind. Many people seem to have a guilt, or obligation, to buy an

item that they've put into their cart. Don't. You're the customer --

you have the right to choose whether to buy. If you find something

you don't want to buy, tell the cashier and don't buy it.

This article was written by Trent Hamm, the founder of The Simple

Dollar, a blog offering a peek at his recovery from near bankruptcy.

Updated Nov. 28, 2007