This Is How They Try To Control Your Mind When You Buy

Much of the marketing strategies are aimed at managing consumer behavior. Many of the studies in this area focus on investigating how we react to offers, what induces us to buy and how we do it. They seek to induce consumption not so much of basic items, which are sold by themselves, but of all those products that are not essential.

Here we tell you some of the tactics used in supermarkets to make your cart come out more loaded with items, than you had planned.

Location of the most necessary

Staples are generally located in the back of the supermarket. Items such as milk, eggs and meat, among others, are installed at the end of the premises. So you have to go a long way before you reach them. Throughout your journey you will find a multitude of offers, which you will necessarily encounter on the way. If you are not clear about what you are going to buy, you can succumb to promotions before buying what you need.

Shopping cart

Supermarket carts are often heavy and difficult to handle. Generally, the wheels are designed with a kind of brake, which makes progress difficult. The purpose is that you do not manage to advance too quickly. This way you will be forced to observe several of the products that you are not looking for. It has also been established that carts tend to be slightly tilted to the left; that’s why sometimes you go in a straight line and it feels like the car is going another direction.

The height

Branded products, which are generally more expensive, are always placed on the shelves so that they are at the eye level of the average person. This type of arrangement makes them more visible. Also, if you can’t wait long at the supermarket, you will always tend to take the first product you find at hand; in this case, it will be the most expensive. If you take a little more time, you will notice that at the bottom, and probably in the corners, there are the same items, but with a different brand and lower price.

Color management

The facades of supermarkets are usually designed in bright colors, in order to make them more attractive. Warm tones are generally used because they fuel the urge to enter the place. Inside, on the other hand, neutral colors are normally used (almost always white), since that way the customer concentrates on the products and not on the decoration of the site.

The music

In many supermarkets they use background music that is generally soft and relaxing, with a touch of modernity. It is intended that customers remain calm and, therefore, are not in a hurry to leave the place. These types of melodies also reduce rational defenses. So a person who is relaxed and devoid of defensive attitudes is more likely to buy. Classical music has similar effects.

The last moment

Shelves containing low-cost, high-consumption products such as candy, cigarettes, and magazines are always located near the boxes. Supermarkets want the customer to feel last-minute impulses and buy these types of items. At the end of the day you have already made the “big” expense and a small additional expense does not change the budget much; at least that’s what they want the buyer to believe.

Image courtesy of Monica Arellano Ongpin.