View Full Version : Beware of your local grocery store
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 5:22pm
Just outside Chicago is the "laboratory", a huge, imposing warehouse devoid of signage and a vast parking lot full of cars. After a thorough security check, you enter a door labeled CONTROL ROOM, into a massive space that reminds you of one of NASA's operations areas--row upon row of people staring intently at screens. Only instead of monitoring satellites they're watching shoppers push their carts through a supermarket designed to test their reactions to different marketing strategies.
"Take a careful look at this lady," said one of the monitors. "She's about to enter our latest speed-bump area. It's designed to have her spend 45 seconds longer in this section, which can increase her spending by as much as 73%. We call it the zone of seduction."
This section is different from the usual aisle. It has upscale floor tiles to impart a sense of quality. And instead of the cart gliding quietly across the floor, it made a clickety-clack sound, causing the shopper to slow down. She slowed noticeably and began looking at a Campbell's soup display that read "1.95. Maximum 3 cans per customer". She bought three.
Yesterday, the the offer of soup was run but with two differences: There was a $ sign in front of the price, and there was no 'Maximum 3 cans per customer' line. One in 103 shoppers bought the soup. Today, 1 in 14 succumbed--a sevenfold increase.
Here's what's happening: We have a primal instinct to hoard food to see us through lean times. So when we come across a deal that appeals to this instinct, dopamine is released in our brain, giving us an instant rush of pleasure. Removing the $ sign, which is a symbol of cost rather than gain, helps remove the reality of outstanding bills. But the impulse to hoard is paramount, and the dictum allowing only 3 cans per customer seals the deal.
The next time you go grocery shopping, take a look at the signs, the floor and even the size of the carts--all have been designed to manipulate you into grabbing 3 cans of something that wasn't on your list.
Time magazine, Nov. 7, 2011
i was sent to the store to get one can of pasta sauce...and i returned home with one can of pasta sauce.
Millenium Vette
11-04-2011, 5:30pm
i was sent to the store to get one can of pasta sauce...and i returned home with one can of pasta sauce.
That's because you're a dude. We go in knowing what we are going to buy, go right to it, then buy it and get the hell out of there. :dance:
jaxgator
11-04-2011, 5:32pm
i was sent to the store to get one can of pasta sauce...and i returned home with one can of pasta sauce.
Exactly! I am a buyer, not a shopper. I go to the store. I walk in. I get what I came for. I pay for it and I leave. Easy peasy. :D
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 5:37pm
That's because you're a dude. We go in knowing what we are going to buy, go right to it, then buy it and get the hell out of there. :dance:
I think you have an excellent point. We men generally hate to shop, whereas women generally love it. BTW, ladies, if you want to meet single men, go to any grocery store on Sunday morning--that's when they do their grocery buying because it isn't crowded and they're less likely to be seen by their buds.
Jeff '79
11-04-2011, 5:38pm
cliffs
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 5:42pm
cliffs
Jeff '79's wife is doing tricks at the corner of 59th and Main. Pass it on. :leaving:
cliffs
cliff is not available now, please call back later.
companies want you to buy stuff you don't need and can't afford.
Jeff '79
11-04-2011, 5:43pm
Jeff '79's wife is doing tricks at the corner of 59th and Main. Pass it on. :leaving:
Thanks...I'm headin' uptown, I guess....:Jeff '79:
Jeff '79
11-04-2011, 5:46pm
do you have a link?
For my wife ???
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 5:56pm
do you have a link?
Since this came from the current issue of Time, it's not online yet.
Millenium Vette
11-04-2011, 6:21pm
BTW, if you want to meet single men, go to any grocery store on Sunday morning--that's when they do their grocery buying because it isn't crowded and they're less likely to be seen by their buds.
It sounds like you've got than one figured out pretty good...
:lol:
Sorry Larry, but I couldn't let that one slip by.
Since this came from the current issue of Time, it's not online yet.
Sounds like you and The Amazing Kreskin got something in common then....
It sounds like you've got than one figured out pretty good...
:lol:
Sorry Larry, but I couldn't let that one slip by.
Sounds like you and The Amazing Kreskin got something in common then....
i have to agree, you seem to know way too much about the shopping habits of single men....is there something you want to share with the class??? :toetap:
OddBall
11-04-2011, 6:34pm
Jeff '79's wife is doing tricks at the corner of 59th and Main. Pass it on. :leaving:
Would that be the "zone of seduction"?
69camfrk
11-04-2011, 6:39pm
I just returned home with three cans of beer which I promptly drank. I've now realized that I should've bought 21 more. Damn...just damn!:datawiz:
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 6:54pm
i have to agree, you seem to know way too much about the shopping habits of single men....is there something you want to share with the class??? :toetap:
Nope. Just posting that as a PSA for the single wimmins here...you silly savage!
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 6:58pm
Sounds like you and The Amazing Kreskin got something in common then....
I still get the...uh, hard copy of Time. I just like to hold it in my hands...caress it's soft pages...let the excitement build until we can't resist any longer. Then...bliss! The needed release! The explosion of desire! You know--the usual. You have held a magazine, haven't you? :leaving:
Time magazine, Nov. 7, 2011
Cool, where do you find articles from the future?
CertInsaneC5
11-04-2011, 7:09pm
I sometimes do the impulse buy at the grocery store. But it has nothing to do with the tile or the carts or any of that shit. Its usually because I went shopping while hungry. I need to stop doing that. :leaving:
VatorMan
11-04-2011, 7:12pm
Cool, where do you find articles from the future?
Duh..
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/12/2009/12/bttf_delorean_for_sale_top.jpg
lspencer534
11-04-2011, 7:16pm
Cool, where do you find articles from the future?
Just a guess, but maybe Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com (http://www.time.com?)
kingpin
11-04-2011, 9:20pm
Jeff '79's wife is doing tricks at the corner of 59th and Main. Pass it on. :leaving:
BTDT!
:leaving:
Just a guess, but maybe Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com (http://www.time.com?)
WOW? You sure that was just a guess??? I don't trust you or your Daylight Savings Time crap either!:)
Millenium Vette
11-04-2011, 11:24pm
I still get the...uh, hard copy of Time. I just like to hold it in my hands...caress it's soft pages... let the excitement build until we can't resist any longer. Then...bliss! The needed release! The explosion of desire! You know--the usual. You have held a magazine, haven't you? :leaving:
Yes, especially back in the day before all this internets shit. However, I can't say I ever jacked off to Time magazine....
This is old news. My father had a supermarket in the 70s and 80s and we were doing this back then. The big thing was a radio station service he got, it had no commercials and it was music to hypnotize the customers. They guaranteed a 50% increase on sales and it did.
Buy 3, get one free....
Cheap burgers patties, crack up the price on the buns...
etc etc...
Mike Mercury
11-05-2011, 8:24am
was sent to the store to get one can of pasta sauce...and I took a big stinky dump in their restroom, and returned home
content.
:) ninja edit
island14
11-05-2011, 9:16am
This stuff works guys.. I'm telling yah!
Every time I go to our neighborhood store I want to buy a bottle of Rhum. :bilmem:
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Ristys-Store.jpg
lspencer534
11-05-2011, 10:41am
This stuff works guys.. I'm telling yah!
Every time I go to our neighborhood store I want to buy a bottle of Rhum. :bilmem:
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Ristys-Store.jpg
Zone of seduction? :leaving:
island14
11-05-2011, 10:52am
They have the videojuke also, 2 songs for 5 peso, its like the village hangout at night.
Cheap Rhum & beer, and bad singing all rolled into one.. :lol:
lspencer534
11-05-2011, 11:37am
They have the videojuke also, 2 songs for 5 peso, its like the village hangout at night.
Cheap Rhum & beer, and bad singing all rolled into one.. :lol:
Video jukeboxes? Just how old are those machines?
island14
11-05-2011, 12:57pm
Video jukeboxes? Just how old are those machines?
That's just what they call them around here.
Vidjuke, videjuke, videojuke..
It is a karaoke machine set up in one box with speakers, and the TV, that accepts coins.
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Videjukie.jpg
What happens though if I go to the store, one of these guys like Johnny below says "just one" then after a drink, it's "just one more" then when you try to beg out, it becomes "last one" then "last last"
By then I usually just cave in and buy another bottle and join them. :datawiz:
(They don't sell drinks by the glass, you buy the bottle of Rhum)
High tech marketing at its finest. :bilmem:
:lol:
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Videjukie-2.jpg
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Videjukie-3.jpg
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Videjukie-4.jpg
CertInsaneC5
11-05-2011, 2:35pm
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Videjukie-2.jpg
That guy looks seriously toasted. :lol: :cert:
island14
11-05-2011, 3:06pm
That guy looks seriously toasted. :lol: :cert:
It happens. :lol:
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Tanduay-2.jpg
boracayjohnny
11-05-2011, 5:24pm
Zone of seduction? :leaving:
:rofl::lol:
It happens. :lol:
http://freeshopmanual.com/uploads/photos/Tanduay-2.jpg
'hello, linksys helpline....'
themonk
11-05-2011, 6:31pm
A loaf of bread, a carton of milk and a stick of butter.
boracayjohnny
11-05-2011, 6:42pm
A loaf of bread, a carton of milk and a stick of butter.
The bread is possible, the milk there will only be UHT, and you'll need to find the cow or water buffalo to get the butter unless they have a ref (refrigerator).
Millenium Vette
11-05-2011, 6:55pm
A loaf of bread, a carton of milk and a stick of butter.
Walk into a bar? Never heard that one before....
Exactly! I am a buyer, not a shopper. I go to the store. I walk in. I get what I came for. I pay for it and I leave. Easy peasy. :D
Yep. I hate grocery shopping for a bottle of milk because it's ALWAYS in the back of the store as far away from the doors you can get.
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