Perhaps you’ve noticed that it’s not easy to get out of the typical American supermarket with exactly what you went in to purchase. Believe it or not, a lot of behavioral science goes into the way that store is designed and laid out with a single purpose in mind—to get you to buy more than you came for. The store’s layout may be costing you money!
Most of what I know about all of this I’ve learned from reading and interviewing Paco Underhill, environmental psychologist, CEO of Envirosell Inc., and author of “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping.” Underhill has shared insights and marketing secrets that grocery stores use to manipulate buying habits. The more I learn, the smarter I get, and the more I enjoy finding all the booby traps in the grocery store so I can beat them at their own game. In the words of that famous philosopher, G.I. Joe, “Knowing is half the battle!”
