Money
Saving Tips Article
Save On Groceries
Written by:
Jeffrey Strain
Web Site:
SavingAdvice.com
Unlike a fixed monthly
cost such as your mortgage or car payment, the amount you spend on
groceries each month is somewhat flexible. While the common advice
of clipping coupons and buying generic brands to save money while
shopping is sound, by far the best way to truly keep your grocery
shopping expenses under control is by understanding how grocery
stores entice you to spend more than you really want. By fully
understanding the ways grocery stores encourage you to spend, many
of which you probably never even noticed before, you can combat
their strategies and spend money only on the merchandise you really
need.
Although a grocery store may appear to be simply a place to purchase
food and other household necessities, in reality it's a cutting edge
example of "how to sell more than consumers really need." Since you
are the consumer, it's important that you realize these sales
tactics so that you walk into a grocery store to get only what you
need while avoiding everything else that the grocery store wants to
sell you. Here are some ways that grocery stores manipulate you into
spending more than you had planned and some simple steps you can
take to counter them:
Smell: One of the first things you'll notice when you enter a
grocery store is the mouth-watering smell. There is a specific
reason why grocery stores smell of freshly baked goods, and also why
the bakery is almost always found near the store entrance. The
reason is that a bakery making bread and desserts gives off an
enticing smell, and that smell is likely to make you hungry. The
grocery store also knows that if you feel hungry while you shop, you
are likely to spend more money - a lot more - than if you are not
hungry.
A simple way that you can combat this is by going grocery shopping
only after you have had a meal and are full. If timing doesn't allow
for you to do this, at least drink a couple of glasses of water
before leaving to make you feel full before shopping. Shopping while
you're full makes it much easier to resist the great smelling
temptations that the grocery store will flaunt in front of you.
Overall Store Layout: Did you ever notice that when you only need to
buy a few staple items, you have to travel the entire grocery store
floor in order to get them? While one might assume that the
convenience of putting basic staple items in the same general area
would make happier customers, grocery stores know that the longer
that they can keep you in the store, the more money you are likely
to spend. They also know that making you walk as far as they can
inside the store will make it more likely that you'll pick up
impulse items. Stores are specifically designed in such a way as to
make you spend as much time as possible inside them and walk the
entire store floor to get the basic staples that everyone needs.
Although there is no way around going to the far corners of the
store to get the groceries you need, you can avoid the trap of
impulse purchases on the store floor by taking the time to make a
list of the items you need and sticking to it when shopping. Getting
into the habit of making a single trip once a week to take care of
all your grocery shopping needs instead of several smaller trips
throughout the week will also greatly reduce your time in the store
and the chances that you'll buy items you don't really need.
Item Display Layout: Manufactures of brand named products pay hefty
stocking fees to stores to have their merchandise placed on the
shelves at adult eye level (and child eye level in the case of
products aimed at children such as cereal). Manufactures are willing
to pay these prices because they know that you are much more likely
to purchase something that you can easily see as you are walking
down the aisle than something you have to stop and search for. The
result is that the products placed at eye level are usually the most
expensive.
Before grabbing the first item you see, take a few seconds to look
at the upper and lower shelves. Similar products are placed together
and simply looking will often reveal the same product at a much
better price.
"Sale" Merchandise: Grocery stores will advertise a certain number
of items at rock bottom prices (called "loss leaders") to get you to
come to the store. While these can be genuine bargains, don't get
fooled into thinking that everything that has the words "sale" or
"bargain" above it is really that. While aisle ends are reserved for
these "bargains," they aren't always the deals they seem to be and
the discounted products are often displayed along side higher price
products. You can sometimes even find similar products in the
regular aisle section that are less than the end of aisle "sale"
merchandise.
The important thing to remember when grocery shopping is to focus on
the price of the product and not all the fancy advertising and
slogans promoting the product. Take the time to check the other
brands and see if there is a better deal. Also, remember that if you
weren't planning to buy the item and you don't really need it, then
it really isn't a bargain for you no matter what the price. Only
consider those items that you regularly use and you have a need for.
Product Appearance: Product packaging at grocery stores is bright,
usually in red and yellows since these colors attract the eye. Just
because something grabs your attention, however, doesn't mean that
you have to buy it. Keep focused on your shopping list and don't get
distracted by products you don't really need.
Packaging will also be much larger than the actual product for many
food items. Manufacturers know that shoppers assume that larger
sized packaging equals a better deal. It would make sense since
bulking items together saves the manufacturer on packaging, shipping
and stocking which they can pass along to you. With a mantra "buy in
bulk" now firmly grounded in most people's minds as a way to save
money, manufacturers are taking advantage of this. While still not
the norm, more and more larger sized packages are less of a deal
than their smaller sized counterparts since manufacturers know you
will make the above assumptions and probably not compare the per
unit cost.
Before grabbing the largest box of a product, take the time to
calculate the per unit or per weight cost. More often than you would
expect, smaller packages of an item are actually a better deal than
buying the same item in a larger package.
Check-Out Layout: The check out aisle of a store is like a mini mart
in itself. This is because grocery stores know that they have a
captive audience while you wait in line to pay for your groceries.
They squeeze in every little thing that might remotely peak your
interest to rack up a large amount on impulse sales.
The best way to avoid these temptations to is plan your shopping
during off peak hours. Avoid the weekend if at all possible since
this is when grocery stores are most crowded, as well as the evening
when everyone has just gotten off work. With many grocery stores now
staying open 24 hours a day, late night and early morning trips when
the aisle and check out lanes are practically bare are the perfect
time to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible.
By taking the time to understand how the grocery stores try to
influence your shopping and spending habits, you have now put
yourself in control. Utilize the suggestions about how to counter
the grocery store's selling techniques and you will be able to
control your grocery spending to a much greater extent and should
have a much easier time keeping to your monthly food budget.
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Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds of money saving articles and
is the co-owner of
http://www.savingadvice.com - a website dedicated to saving you
money.
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