Ever wonder why you end up buying more than what you need in Geant or Carrefour?

Ever wonder why you end up buying more than what you need in Geant or Carrefour?

This is how retailers make you buy more than what you need (and perhaps some other retailers in Bahrain might want to copy these strategies to increase sales):

- Entrance to the store is almost always through an open area; the decompression zone. Here, the customer relaxes as he enters. This is a loss area for retailers, but they recover some of the losses by placing promotional items.

- At entrance, employers greet you with a smile (Wal-Mart) because it is harder to steal from nice people? That’s why some people think.

- Then immediately next you will see the “chill” zone: magazines, books, and DVDs – all to make you relax and get in the mood.

- After chilling, you meet the vegetables and fruits section. If you start shopping here, you will feel less guilty about buying unhealthy foods (thus higher sales!)

- Where are the milk and medicine – the everyday items? Always in the back, so that you may walk longer in the shop, or increase “dwell time.”

- And then suddenly you smell the sweet and hunger-inducing smell of bread. It’s more efficient if bread is baked separately, but retailers bake it in the store to induce your hunger, and thus increase sales.

- Also, retailers intentionally increase the aroma of non-food items (such as laundry items) to stimulate your brain, again for higher sales (as in: waaaaw!!! This smells nice! I want it).
- And you thought the security camera are placed to catch thieves? The cameras are also studying your every move and breathe to understand customer behavior.

- At checkout, have you wondered why the chocolates and gums are placed in low shelves? If you have kids, you would know. The chocolates are for the kids to grab just before leaving ;)

If you know more of these tricks, pls share. I have principally used the Economist’s Dec 18th article on retailers as the main source.