When you shop at a supermarket, the store's layout has been carefully planned. Products are positioned so that you pass as many shelves as possible before reaching the checkout.
According to Belgian news outlet Sudinfo, this increases the likelihood of customers buying products they had not originally planned to purchase.
That is why making a shopping list before leaving home and sticking to it can be beneficial. It can also help to avoid spending too much time near the most tempting products.
Colours influence customers
Supermarkets also use colours, scents and store layouts to make their products more appealing.
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According to French food website Marmiton, wooden shelves and small water misters can make products appear fresher, Sudinfo reports.
Retail expert Pierre-Alexandre Billiet previously told Het Laatste Nieuws that fresh products and attractive colours can encourage customers to make more purchases, according to Sudinfo.
The technique is far from new. As early as the Middle Ages, fresh produce was displayed at the front of marketplaces.
Why they are placed at the front
There is a specific reason why fruit and vegetables are often the first products you encounter when entering a supermarket.
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When you walk into a store, you spend the first few moments getting your bearings. During this time, you typically pay more attention to your surroundings than to prices.
Supermarkets take advantage of this by placing fruit and vegetables near the entrance.
According to Sudinfo, this can give customers the feeling that they are making healthy choices right from the start.
That feeling can later make it easier to justify buying less healthy products.
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The placement of fruit and vegetables is therefore a deliberate sales strategy.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.