Supermarkets today are designed to taunt, tempt and tease you into spending more money than you had planned. The aromas of freshly baked bread and rotisserie chicken lure you to the fresh food aisles. Signs everywhere scream about bargains. Candy crowds the checkouts.
It takes a steely-eyed shopper to avoid the temptations and find the real savings. We help you navigate your way through the marketing minefield that is today’s supermarket.
Continued: Curb those impulses
Grocery industry studies have shown that 50% to 60% of all supermarket purchases are made on impulse, and that figure can jump to nearly 70% when shoppers go down every aisle.
Supermarkets do what they can to take advantage of those impulses. Stores are full of displays designed to tempt you into spending more, including advertising messages on the shelves and the floors, and broadcasts over the sound system.
So make a list before you head to a store — and stick to it. You’ll spend less, and, as a side benefit, you won’t forget something you actually need.
Continued: Don’t shop hungry
Those aromas wafting from the bakery will be harder to resist if you’re hungry, and that’s not the only temptation you’ll face.
Most supermarkets put colorful, brightly lit produce departments right inside the front door to get you in the mood to buy. Even when you’re done shopping, you’ll be faced with candy and soft drinks at the checkout counter.
The best idea is to eat first, then shop. But if you must shop on an empty stomach — a real possibility if you typically pick up groceries on the way home from work — head first for the deli, where some free samples may be available to help take the edge off your hunger.
Continued: Be flexible about brands
Supermarkets want you to buy their own brands, because they make more money that way. Stores put their products next to the brand-name versions on the shelf and use “compare and save” signs to show the price differences.
In this case, you should go along, because you’ll generally save money without sacrificing quality. New research by a trade group for the makers of such products suggests that consumers can cut their weekly grocery bills by 30% if they buy store brands instead of the better-advertised national brands.
The biggest savings can be found on aspirin, sinus sprays, sodas, saltine crackers and body lotions, the study determined.
Continued: Location, location, location
Retailers know that people will seek out their favorite brands no matter where they’re located. But for other things, most of us will gravitate toward what’s within easy reach.
With that in mind, stores often put more-expensive or more-profitable stuff on the most accessible shelves, on the theory that “eye level is buy level.” So it’s worth checking out what’s on the top and bottom shelves.
Another common supermarket trick is to put popular products, such as milk and eggs, in the back of the store. That way you have to walk past a lot of tempting wares before you get to what you actually want.
Continued: Inconvenience yourself
Pre-sliced meats, bagged salads and chips packaged in handy snack packs all save you time in the kitchen, but they’ll take a bigger bite out of your budget. Case in point: A head of green leaf lettuce at a New York City grocery store runs $1.99, while a bag of already-cut and washed lettuce from the same store is $2.89.
The lesson: You’ll save money if you do more of the work yourself.
The same is true of processed foods. Instead of buying a jar of pasta sauce, you can buy a can of crushed tomatoes and some spices and make your own. And you might even cut some unwanted sugar or salt from your diet.
Continued: Display some skepticism
Retailers call them “endcaps,” those displays at the ends of aisles that often offer special deals. They are placed where shoppers slow down as they navigate their carts from one aisle to another, so the promise of a bargain will get noticed.
The problem is that not all the deals on endcaps or other special displays are worthwhile. Sometimes stores will use the space for “bargain bins” that actually house items they’re trying to clear out.
In other cases, a product that actually is on sale is flanked by complementary products at regular or even premium prices, such as chips that are a bargain paired with salsa that isn’t.
Continued: Buy in bulk … sometimes
Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy in larger sizes. But stores know that you expect to save when you bulk up, and sometimes they’ll use that expectation against you.
To make sure you’re really benefiting from the extra investment, check the unit price to see what you’re paying per ounce, pound, liter or other measure.
Other considerations include how perishable the product is and how much you actually need. Bags of oranges, potatoes or onions may be at a better per-unit price than if you buy them individually, but any savings could be lost if you have to throw away some of the produce because it spoiled before you could use it.
Continued: Clip with care
Coupons can save you money, but only when you use them wisely.
Don’t let a deal tempt you into buying something you wouldn’t otherwise, and remember that bargains can sometimes steer you away from basic (and inexpensive) ingredients and toward products that are over-processed but more profitable for the food manufacturer.
Companies that issue coupons are trying to get you to buy their products instead of the ones you usually purchase. You can come out ahead if you use coupons only for price breaks on the things you actually want. And be careful of store circulars, which may showcase products that are not actually on sale.
Continued: Shop alone
In his book “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping,” retail anthropologist Paco Underhill writes that people who visit stores in groups tend to spend more than those who go alone.
Men can be particularly bad shopping companions, he explains, because they are more prone to making impulse buys.
“Throw a couple of kids in with Dad, and you’ve got a lethal combination,” Underhill writes. “He’s notoriously bad at saying no when there’s grocery acquisitioning to be done.”
Continued: Double-check at the checkout
That bar code isn’t a price tag; it simply identifies a product so the cash register can look up the price in the store’s computer. Sometimes those computerized lists are not updated to reflect sale prices, so if you don’t double-check, you could be overcharged.
Most grocery store cash registers have displays that face the customer, so you can watch the price come up as each item is scanned. If something looks wrong, you can ask about it on the spot or read your receipt after the transaction is complete to make sure you were charged the right amount.
If the process goes too fast for you to follow, opt next time for a self-checkout lane where you can scan at your own pace.
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