According to Reader's Digest, grocery stores have learned many subtle tricks over the years to encourage shoppers to spend more money on their products. By placing the brightly colored fruits and vegetables near the front of the store, for instance, it can put shoppers in a better mood and more likely to spend money. Similarly, the music playing in the background is often slower than the average heartbeat, causing people to walk slower and linger.
Other tactics rely on promotional pricing, such as 10-for-10 sales that increase the price of the items listed above a dollar or on bulk packaging that makes the items more expensive than buying singles of the same thing.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.