WHY WE BUY MORE THAN WE PLANNED
Most of us walk into a supermarket with a clear idea of what we need: some bread, a carton of milk, perhaps a few apples. Yet surveys show that more than half of the items people carry to the checkout were never on their list, and every week the average family spends a quarter more than it intended. It is tempting to blame ourselves for being careless or greedy. Researchers who study shopping habits, however, say that this extra spending is rarely an accident. In most cases, they argue, it is the result of careful planning by the store itself.(lines 1–6)
Dr. Laura Benning, a psychologist who has spent fifteen years observing the way people shop, calls this approach "guided shopping". Every detail of a modern store, from the lighting to the width of the aisles*, is chosen to slow customers down and keep their eyes on the shelves. In one study she carried out together with a large food chain, the researchers secretly changed the speed of the background music in several branches. The effect on shoppers was surprisingly strong: on days when slow music was played, they walked more slowly and spent around 30 percent more money than on days with fast music. Almost none of them noticed that anything was different.(lines 7–13)
Another tool is the loyalty card. Most customers think of it as a simple way to save money, but for the store, Benning explains, it is above all a source of information. Each time a card is scanned, the system records what was bought, at what time and in which branch. Points are given only under certain conditions: shoppers receive them when they buy products from a special list chosen by the store, or when they spend more than a fixed amount on a single visit. In this way, the points quietly steer people towards the store's own goals.(lines 14–19)
Benning is particularly worried about one common practice. Food companies often pay supermarkets to place sweets and sugary cereals on the lowest shelves, exactly at the eye level of small children. "This is the part of guided shopping that troubles me most," she says. "A five-year-old cannot tell the difference between a product and an advertisement." Faced with bright packages at the checkout, young children may also be unable to control the urge to grab something, and a tired parent will often give in.(lines 20–25)
So what can shoppers do? Benning does not believe that people should stop going to supermarkets or cut up their loyalty cards. In her view, the answer is preparation. "Write a list at home, decide in advance how much you are going to spend, and stick to both," she advises. She also recommends eating before going shopping, as hungry customers tend to fill their carts with snacks. Parents can also choose checkout lanes without sweets, which some stores now offer. "The store comes with a plan," she says. "The best protection is to arrive with a plan of your own."(lines 26–31)