The Homa Files

TakeAway:  As manufacturers and retailers strategize to squeeze pennies out of our now incredibly cost-conscious consumers, it appears the consumers are starting to catch on.

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Excerpted from New Jersey Business, “Savvy marketing ploys can cost unwitting grocery shoppers plenty,” The Associated Press, November 06, 2009

If you ever leave the grocery store with a slight sense of bewilderment at what you’ve just bought, you are not alone.

Despite the utilitarian look of most grocers’ shelves, careful science goes into deciding how to display the thousands of items each store carries and how to make them appeal to consumers.

Marketers tug shoppers toward items they did not intend to buy … with package design, shelf placement, tie-ins and temporary price cuts …

Marketers have put more thought into grocery stores than any other type of store because they see an opportunity in the monotony of shopping for necessities …

For a bundle of 30 products that would cost an “impulsive” shopper $288 … research found a “savvy” shopper would pay just $166 at the same grocery store. In addition to guarding against marketing ploys, the savvy consumer tracked down coupons, used a store bonus card and chose the most economical sizes …

Here’s what to watch for next time you head out for groceries.

1. END OF THE AISLE: Marketers pay grocers dearly to put their wares on the end of each aisle shelves because products there can sell 30 percent more …

2. EYE-LEVEL, EYES OPEN: … Shoppers look straight ahead or, at most, from side to side, as they shop. So products on shelves at eye level often cost more than their lower-shelf siblings …

3. MORE CAN BE LESS: … One in four times a smaller version of a product was cheaper per serving …

4. D-I-Y CARROT STICKS: … convenience can be pricey.

5. DON’T PICK THEIR NUMBER: … Be wary of … the buy-five-for-$5 type. You usually don’t have to buy all five to get the promotional price …

6. THAT ONE LAST THING: The items in the display by the cash register are always marked up …

7. REMEMBER THE TRIED AND TRUE: … Buy store brands, which can be even more economical than shopping at warehouse clubs …

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Full Article
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/savvy_marketing_ploys_can_cost.html

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This entry was posted on January 5, 2010 at 7:14 am and is filed under Mktg - Consumer Behavior, Retailing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.