Tag: grocery store

Posted in Life

They moved everything around

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

I go to the grocery store enough that I’m on autopilot. I often buy the same things, I know where to find them in the store, and I’m out the door in no time.

One of the items on my list: cocoa powder. That’s in the baking aisle which is just past all the spices and oils. Except it wasn’t. When I got down to the end of the aisle where I knew the cake mixes, chocolate chips, and cocoa powder was, I was all turned around. Actually, I wasn’t turned around. The store aisle was.

The previous night, store management decided to move items around. Now the cake mixes were near the front of the store, along with the cocoa powder, and all the spices and oils were at the back of the store.

Why would they change everything around?

Of course, I consulted the oracle, Google, to find out. My guess was right. If management can keep you in the store longer looking for the items on your list, you’ll make more impulse purchases and they’ll get more of your money.

Since the self-checkout lanes were full, I checked out with a live cashier. She asked me if I found everything, because the store had been rearranged. I had, but it was nice of her to ask. I guess I wasn’t the only puzzled customer to pass by that day.

I’ll bet every detail in the store is intentional. From the music in the background to the appearance of the employees to the colors of the displays, everything is designed to persuade me to spend money. The merchandising folks know their stuff. I guess it’s better to say they know people and how to influence our behavior.

I once again know where everything is. For now.

Posted in Life

Gridlock at the grocery store

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Tara Clark on Unsplash

Stopping at the grocery store for just a few items took a lot longer than I planned. The Saturday afternoon gridlock of aisle wanderers lengthened my shopping experience.

First thing on my list is a few containers of frosting from the baking aisle. A man with a cart filled with bags of pretzels (?) paused to look up and down, back and forth at all the boxed cake mixes. I doubt he was there to buy any. He was mesmerized by pictures of picture of delicious cake. I waited a few moments, and when I realized he wasn’t leaving any time soon, I reached up and grabbed what I needed and scooted off to the next aisle.

Or at least I tried. At the end of that aisle was a couple bickering about whether they needed anything in that part of the store. They were stalled out, so I looped around to the other end to get what I needed. They might still be there, deciding if they need air freshener or not.

I thought I could make a quick swing through the meat section for a steak. Nope. A couple of offensive lineman sized female shoppers blocked off my approach from every angle. They certainly had no 40-yard speed to boast about. I decided to return after an attempt at the dairy section.

I had trouble getting near the dairy items, too. Three women were strolling side-by-side past the eggs, lamenting the inflated prices, oblivious to others in the store. There was no way to get by them. I patiently followed until one of them noticed me with a start and said with a note of annoyance, “O, excuse me!” and let me get some butter. I just smiled. At least on the outside.

I am always thankful to leave the grocery store in one piece mentally. It’s not easy, is it. The shopping may be a pleasure, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.