If you've been guilty of popping into a supermarket or local shop just for 'a couple of essentials' and leaving the store with bags piled high, there could be a simple reason for it that you weren't aware. A 'sneaky' supermarket trick has been highlighted by a consumer psychologist and paying attention to the reason could just save you a few quid when you do your next shop.
We all know that retailers have plenty of tricks up their sleeves when it comes to getting consumers to spend more - 'bargain' promotions for things you didn't know you needed, 3 for 2s on certain products, moving the displays to force you into aisles you usually miss... they've all been documented. But a little-known basket trick is one thing that a supermarket expert says people don't necessarily notice.
According to a consumer psychologist, along with marketing ploys there are some more subtle ways that stores try to get you to spend more. Dr. Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, from Anglia Ruskin University, spoke to Nottinghamshire Live parent publication, the Mirror, and shared a little-known psychological basket and trolley trick that might be to blame for your overspending. Her latest tip is all to do with baskets and trolleys and how they are often strategically placed around the shops, but no one notices.
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Dr Jansson-Boyd said: "People used to find that if they put too much in a basket that you hold they got too heavy and that was a sign they should stop shopping, as they couldn't carry it." She added: "That's why you often see the baskets on wheels these days."
However, what many people don't realise is that these wheelie baskets are actually much bigger than the old handheld ones. Explaining, she went on: "They can almost hold the same amount as a small trolley, but because it's a basket, you have the perception that you're buying less. So when you're trying to save money, using one of these baskets is not necessarily a good thing to do because you do tend to fill them up."
According to the expert, supermarkets may also use basket placement tricks by the entrance of the shop to encourage you to use a bigger basket or trolley over a smaller one. She said: "You often find that the smaller shopping trolleys are placed on the opposite side to the shop entrance and the bigger trolleys are on the entrance side.
"If you want the smaller one you have to walk all the way round to get it, so it's usually just easier to grab the bigger one when you walk through as it's near the door." Dr Jansson-Boyd added that they also do something similar with baskets - as many supermarkets will stack the smaller baskets at the end of the tills and place the bigger baskets near the doorway.
"It looks like people have dropped the baskets by the tills while shopping, but often that's not the case, they put them there because it means it will be easy to grab the bigger basket on wheels as you come in than go all the way up to the tills to get the smaller one," added Dr Jansson-Boyd.
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