How To Save Money On Groceries
By Jeffrey Strain
Unlike a fixed monthly cost such as your
mortgage or car payment, the amount you spend
on groceries each month is somewhat flexible.
While the common advice of clipping coupons
and buying generic brands to save money while
shopping is sound, by far the best way to
truly keep your grocery shopping expenses
under control is by understanding how grocery
stores entice you to spend more than you really
want. By fully understanding the ways grocery
stores encourage you to spend, many of which
you probably never even noticed before, you
can combat their strategies and spend money
only on the merchandise you really need.
Although a grocery store may appear
to be simply a place to purchase food
and other household necessities, in reality
it's a cutting edge example of "how
to sell more than consumers really need."
Since you are the consumer, it's important
that you realize these sales tactics so
that you walk into a grocery store to
get only what you need while avoiding
everything else that the grocery store
wants to sell you. Here are some ways
that grocery stores manipulate you into
spending more than you had planned and
some simple steps you can take to counter
them:
Smell: One of the first things you'll
notice when you enter a grocery store
is the mouth-watering smell. There is
a specific reason why grocery stores smell
of freshly baked goods, and also why the
bakery is almost always found near the
store entrance. The reason is that a bakery
making bread and desserts gives off an
enticing smell, and that smell is likely
to make you hungry. The grocery store
also knows that if you feel hungry while
you shop, you are likely to spend more
money - a lot more - than if you are not
hungry.
A simple way that you can combat this
is by going grocery shopping only after
you have had a meal and are full. If timing
doesn't allow for you to do this, at least
drink a couple of glasses of water before
leaving to make you feel full before shopping.
Shopping while you're full makes it much
easier to resist the great smelling temptations
that the grocery store will flaunt in
front of you.
Overall Store Layout: Did you ever notice
that when you only need to buy a few staple
items, you have to travel the entire grocery
store floor in order to get them? While
one might assume that the convenience
of putting basic staple items in the same
general area would make happier customers,
grocery stores know that the longer that
they can keep you in the store, the more
money you are likely to spend. They also
know that making you walk as far as they
can inside the store will make it more
likely that you'll pick up impulse items.
Stores are specifically designed in such
a way as to make you spend as much time
as possible inside them and walk the entire
store floor to get the basic staples that
everyone needs.
Although there is no way around going
to the far corners of the store to get
the groceries you need, you can avoid
the trap of impulse purchases on the store
floor by taking the time to make a list
of the items you need and sticking to
it when shopping. Getting into the habit
of making a single trip once a week to
take care of all your grocery shopping
needs instead of several smaller trips
throughout the week will also greatly
reduce your time in the store and the
chances that you'll buy items you don't
really need.
Item Display Layout: Manufactures of
brand named products pay hefty stocking
fees to stores to have their merchandise
placed on the shelves at adult eye level
(and child eye level in the case of products
aimed at children such as cereal). Manufactures
are willing to pay these prices because
they know that you are much more likely
to purchase something that you can easily
see as you are walking down the aisle
than something you have to stop and search
for. The result is that the products placed
at eye level are usually the most expensive.
Before grabbing the first item you see,
take a few seconds to look at the upper
and lower shelves. Similar products are
placed together and simply looking will
often reveal the same product at a much
better price.
"Sale" Merchandise: Grocery
stores will advertise a certain number
of items at rock bottom prices (called
"loss leaders") to get you to
come to the store. While these can be
genuine bargains, don't get fooled into
thinking that everything that has the
words "sale" or "bargain"
above it is really that. While aisle ends
are reserved for these "bargains,"
they aren't always the deals they seem
to be and the discounted products are
often displayed along side higher price
products. You can sometimes even find
similar products in the regular aisle
section that are less than the end of
aisle "sale" merchandise.
The important thing to remember when
grocery shopping is to focus on the price
of the product and not all the fancy advertising
and slogans promoting the product. Take
the time to check the other brands and
see if there is a better deal. Also, remember
that if you weren't planning to buy the
item and you don't really need it, then
it really isn't a bargain for you no matter
what the price. Only consider those items
that you regularly use and you have a
need for.
Product Appearance: Product packaging
at grocery stores is bright, usually in
red and yellows since these colors attract
the eye. Just because something grabs
your attention, however, doesn't mean
that you have to buy it. Keep focused
on your shopping list and don't get distracted
by products you don't really need.
Packaging will also be much larger than
the actual product for many food items.
Manufacturers know that shoppers assume
that larger sized packaging equals a better
deal. It would make sense since bulking
items together saves the manufacturer
on packaging, shipping and stocking which
they can pass along to you. With a mantra
"buy in bulk" now firmly grounded
in most people's minds as a way to save
money, manufacturers are taking advantage
of this. While still not the norm, more
and more larger sized packages are less
of a deal than their smaller sized counterparts
since manufacturers know you will make
the above assumptions and probably not
compare the per unit cost.
Before grabbing the largest box of a
product, take the time to calculate the
per unit or per weight cost. More often
than you would expect, smaller packages
of an item are actually a better deal
than buying the same item in a larger
package.
Check-Out Layout: The check out aisle
of a store is like a mini mart in itself.
This is because grocery stores know that
they have a captive audience while you
wait in line to pay for your groceries.
They squeeze in every little thing that
might remotely peak your interest to rack
up a large amount on impulse sales.
The best way to avoid these temptations
to is plan your shopping during off peak
hours. Avoid the weekend if at all possible
since this is when grocery stores are
most crowded, as well as the evening when
everyone has just gotten off work. With
many grocery stores now staying open 24
hours a day, late night and early morning
trips when the aisle and check out lanes
are practically bare are the perfect time
to get in and out of the grocery store
as quickly as possible.
By taking the time to understand how
the grocery stores try to influence your
shopping and spending habits, you have
now put yourself in control. Utilize the
suggestions about how to counter the grocery
store's selling techniques and you will
be able to control your grocery spending
to a much greater extent and should have
a much easier time keeping to your monthly
food budget.
Copyright (c) 2004, by Jeffrey Strain
This article may be freely distributed
so long as the copyright, author's information
and an active link (where possible) are
included.
A complimentary copy of any newsletter
or a link to the site where the article
is posted would be greatly appreciated.
About The Author
Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds
of money saving articles and the creator
of the Daily Money Saving Challenge Program.
He is the co-owner of http://www.savingadvice.com
-- a website dedicated to saving you
money.
savingadvice@gmail.com
