What Your Supermarket knows about you by Martin Lindstorm

            Grocery shopping is an essential part of everyday life. Now more than ever shopping must be done on a strict budget. Why is it at check out though, consumer’s totals are more than expected? Upon finishing What Your Supermarket knows about you by Martin Lindstorm you’ll be mindful of crafty sales gimmicks placed strategically throughout the store.

            If you think about it retailers are just like writers, if the writer can’t get the reader’s attention then they’ll lose them. If the retailer can’t reel in the customers then they won’t have any business. The uneven floor, for example, is a sublte distraction to keep the customer in the aisle for longer than necessary. This slight distraction could be enough time to avert the customer’s attention to a product they weren’t initially there to purchase.   

            I worked in retail for seven years so I’m aware of different tactics retailers use to manipulate customers into purchasing more. When my store offered a promotion the advertisement would be misleading. Signage in the front window of the store would display to customers, free item. An advertisement such as this, brings customers through the door. In small print, towards the bottom of this advertisement would be a stipulation costumers would over look. The advertisement would read free item, in large print and in small print it would say with a minimum purchase of $39.99. Marketing ploys such as this are frequently used by retail businesses to gain an upper hand on customers.

            It is important for consumers to know retailers are trying to secure the advantage and increase their profit. Marketing ploys are always in favor of the product being pushed rather than the customer’s wellbeing. Consumers must stick to their budget and purchase only what is necessary. So if cheese doodles are on sale 10 for $10, think to yourself, do I really need 10 bags of cheese doodles? Marketing is nothing more than a synonym for monopoly.