DUPERMARKETS; Stores using 'dirty tricks' to get us to spend more.SNEAKY super markets are using dirty tricks dirty tricks pl.n. Informal 1. Covert intelligence operations designed to disrupt the economy or upset the political situation in another country. 2. to get us to buy more - when people are trying to watch their cash. While some tricks are already well known, such as putting sweets near checkouts, others are a lot more subtle and underhand, consumer watchdogs found. And the study by Which? discovered that the underhand methods work because around two thirds of shoppers end up buying more than they had originally intended. The tricks range from moving items around to placing essentials such as milk and eggs at the rear of stores to get shoppers to walk further. Eye-level shelves and end-of-aisle racks are the most profitable so these are saved for high-profit items such as batteries or for those manufactuers who pay most for the site. Putting fruit and veg near the entrance and booze Booze sold cheap whiskey in a log-cabin bottle. [Am. Hist.: Espy, 152–153] See : Drunkenness at the back makes little sense because putting heavy items on soft ones is not ideal. But it makes perfect sense psychologically in presenting a clean and healthy image to new shoppers. The study found that such tricks are not popular with shoppers. And the Which? research found that 73 per cent of shoppers are annoyed when supermarkets move products around. Almost half - 47 per cent - are unhappy that basic items are not near the front, said the poll of 2700 Which? members. Which? listed 10 top tricks used by the retailers from the layout of a store to the siting of special offers and "dwell zones". Which? said: "It's no secret that supermarkets use every trick in the book to tempt tempt v. tempt·ed, tempt·ing, tempts v.tr. 1. To try to get (someone) to do wrong, especially by a promise of reward. 2. you to buy more than you'd you'd 1. Contraction of you had. 2. Contraction of you would. you'd you had or you would you'd have ~would intended. "Nearly two thirds said that special offers at shop entrances were helpful or convenient but there are some tactics that shoppers dislike." This includes targeting children, not just at the checkout but by putting many of their favourite products on low shelves where little ones young children. See also: Little will spot them more easily than adults. The top three tricks of the trade are: Fruit and veg at the front - this is to make shoppers think supermarkets are full of healthy and fresh products, rather than fat, sugar and alcohol. Themed aisles - for Halloween, Christmas, Mother's Day, near the front of the store for maximum effect. Like with like - putting biscuits near tea and coffee gets shoppers to associate one with the other. |
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