Grocery stores know exactly how you shop. And no trick is too small if it means getting you to pick up just one more item. The following are five tricks grocery stores use to increase their profits and solutions to keep your spending to a minimum.
Sales or Bargains?
Many advertised sales are anything but. Often times the list price shown in comparison to the “sale” price is not the original list price but a much inflated one.
Solution?
Compare the unit prices to similar items to see if the sale is really a bargain. Having a base knowledge of regular items will help you determine if an item is truly on sale.
Numbers Games
Ten for $10! Buy Two get Two Free! Four for $3! Every sale sticker you read has been carefully worded to get the maximum sale. Ten for ten dollars is the same as one for one dollar, but one for $1 is rarely seen. Grocers know that the amount of items they advertise is the amount most people purchase. But unless the sale specifically says you must buy the advertised amount, you can purchase lesser amounts for the same sales price.
Solution?
Only buy as much as you need, and be sure that the unit price is a true bargain. Four for three dollars may sound good, but if the regular unit price is .75cents, there is no actual savings.
Samples
Free samples are anything but good will. They are a plain and simple marketing tool. Research shows that the majority of people feel a sense of indebtedness to buy after trying a free sample. And often times, the price of the sampled item is nowhere to be seen, resulting in major profits on these items.
Solution?
Enjoy the samples, guilt-free! Or, if you know you will have difficulty not buying from the sweet grandma handing them out, learn to say, “No thank you.” and move on.
Scan errors
Sales stickers get taken down late or put up early. Advertised sales are put under the wrong item on the shelf. Sale items are never updated in the computer. Whatever the cause, scanning errors can cause major differences in your expected price and your actual receipt.
