Fact File
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Written by Scot Meyer
SwitchYard Media, Inc. - contact | website
Designed and produced by Kent Harris
Tin Can Rocket, LLC. - contact | website
A production of SwitchYard Media, Inc.
Curb those impulses
Grocery industry studies have shown that between 50 percent and 60 percent of all supermarket purchases are made on impulse, and that figure can jump to nearly 70 percent when shoppers go down every aisle.
Supermarkets do what they can to take advantage of that fact -- stores are full of displays designed to tempt you to spend a little more, including advertising messages on the shelves, the floors and broadcast over the sound system.
So make a list before heading to the store, and stick to it. You'll spend less, and as a side benefit you won't forget something you actually need to buy.
Bonus fact: The average household spends $98.40 a week on groceries. Those with children spend $119.30 a week on average, and those without children spend $88.30 per week. In 1935 the average family devoted one-fourth of its budget to grocery purchases. That amounted to about $700 a year, when an annual income of $2,800 qualified a family of four as middle class.
Photo courtesy of Supervalu
Don't shop hungry
The wafting aromas 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 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 for the deli where some free samples may be available to help take the edge off your hunger.
Bonus fact: A&P began adding bakery departments to its stores in 1946, but the serious aromas came later. Those first departments were stocked with products baked off premises. In-store bakeries now contribute about 2 percent of supermarket sales, the Food Marketing Institute estimates.
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Be flexible about brands
Supermarkets want you to buy their own brands, because they make more money on them. They put their products next to the brand name versions on the shelf, and use “compare and save” signs to show the price differential between the two.
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 bill by 30 percent if they buy store brands instead of the better-advertised national brands.
The biggest savings can be found on aspirin, sinus spray, soda, saltine crackers and body lotion, the study determined.
Bonus fact: Supermarkets' own brands now account for 9.7 percent of the products carried in the typical store, the Food Marketing Institute reports. That's up from 8.1 percent in 2008 and 7.5 percent in 2007. More than nine in 10 grocery stores plan to increase the numbers of these products in the coming year.
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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 will 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.
Bonus fact: Another reason to look around is that there are lots of products on those shelves, and there's no reason to stick to a limited assortment of old favorites. The average supermarket in 2008 carried 46,852 different items. An industry maxim is that 20 percent of those account for 80 percent of sales.
Photo courtesy of Bradley Gordon
Inconvenience yourself
Pre-cut meat, bagged salads and chips packaged in handy snack packs all save you time in the kitchen, but they'll take a bite out of your budget. Case in point: a head of green leaf lettuce at a New York City grocery store will run you $1.99, while a bag of pre-cut and pre-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. You might even cut some unwanted sugar or salt from your diet while you're at it.
Bonus fact: Convenience foods have been around for a long time. The first frozen foods were introduced in 1930 under the Bird's Eye Brand, and the same company debuted pre-cooked, frozen meals in 1939. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, a pantry staple, hit store shelves in 1937. Today more than a million boxes are sold every day.
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Display some skepticism
Retailers call them endcaps -- those displays at the ends of aisles that often offer special deals. They are located in spots where shoppers are slowing down anyway, 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 are 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 -- like chips that are a bargain paired with salsa that isn't.
Bonus fact: The supermarket psychology begins when you grab a shopping cart. Research suggests that bigger carts get you to buy more. One way to trick yourself into spending less is to grab a hand-held basket instead. The shopping cart was invented in 1937 in Oklahoma City.
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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 prices to see what you're paying per ounce, pound or liter.
Another consideration is how perishable the product is, and how much you actually need. Bags of oranges, potatoes or onions may be a better buy than when you get them individually, but any savings will be lost if you have to throw some of it away because it spoils before you can use it.
Bonus fact: The Jewel Food Stores chain, based in Chicago, converted all of its stores to a dual pricing system in 1970, listing both a product's price per package and per unit. Now all supermarkets are required to list unit prices on their shelves, making it easier for shoppers to determine whether or not bulk purchases are a good deal.
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Clip with care
Coupons can save you money, but only when you use them wisely.
Don't let a deal tempt you to buy something you otherwise wouldn't, and remember that the 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 try their products instead of the ones you usually buy. You can come out ahead if you use them to buy the things you actually want. And be careful of store circulars, which may showcase products that are not actually on sale.
Bonus fact: In the 1950s trading stamps were a popular incentive for shoppers. A chain called King Soopers began offering S&H Green Stamps in 1950, and their popularity spread. By 1962, trading stamps hit their peak with estimated sales of $671 million. Now supermarkets use card programs to reward loyal shoppers.
Photo courtesy of Supervalu
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 it alone.
Men can be particularly bad shopping companions, he explains, because they are more prone than women 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."
Bonus fact: There are 35,394 supermarkets in the United States with annual sales of $2 million or more. In 2008 they generated a total of $547.1 billion in sales. The median store size is 46,755 square feet, and stores do an average of $11.39 in weekly sales for every square foot.
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Double check at the checkout
That barcode isn't a price tag -- it just 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 might be overcharged.
Most grocery store cash registers have a display that faces 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 to make sure.
And if the process goes too fast for you to follow, next time opt for a self-checkout lane where you can scan at your own pace.
Bonus fact: More than 20 percent of the people who use regular checkout lanes say they regularly buy something extra while waiting to pay, a study has found. That compares to only about 13 percent of the people who use the express lanes, and 10 percent in the self-scan lanes.