Some methods of making buyers get more at supermarkets

Some methods of making buyers get more at supermarkets

     You are going to read a magazine article about some methods of making buyers get more at supermarkets.

a) Match the words given below with their synonyms or explanations.

Decide if the statements are true or false :

1.In most supermarkets you can buy fruit both at the entrance and at the exit of the store.

2.All trolleys are provided with a special compartment for fresh fruit and vegetables.

3.The smell of freshly baked bread in the supermarket always makes customers buy more bread than they originally wanted.

4. Supermarkets very often change their layout so that the customers could notice the things they don't usually buy.

5. Bargains of the week are usually displayed at the end of a row.

6."High earners" are products that people buy every day.

7. Supermarkets never ask customers what kind of music they would like to listen to while they are making purchases.

8. Music in supermarkets can be a great influence on the time buyers spend in it and the number of the products they buy.

9.All customers can use all checkouts at any time.

10. All checkouts usually work with the same speed.

11. There are plans to replace checkouts with self-service equipment.

 Answer the questions below.

1. Are there any supermarkets in the place you live? If yes, what are their names? Are they very big? How many storeys are there?

2. How far is the nearest supermarket situated from your house?

3. How often do you go to supermarkets?

4. What do you usually buy there?

5. When you enter a supermarket, do you usually take a trolley or a smaller shopping basket?

6. How well do you find your way about the supermarket you go to?

7. Do they often change the display and layout of the goods in the supermarket you go to?

8. What is your usual route in the supermarket you go to? What do you usually buy first and last in the supermarket?

9. Do you like the quality of the groceries you buy in the supermarket you go to?

10. How long do you usually have to queue at the checkout? How do you feel about it?

Some methods of making buyers get more at supermarkets

Have you ever wondered why some stores smell of fresh bread or why some play music and others don't? We asked the experts at 'SuperMarketing' magazine to explain some of the hidden tricks of the trade.

Question 1. "Why are the fresh fruit and vegetables usually at the entrance to the store? It's always crowded, and they get squashed if I have to load heavy cans and packets on top."

Answer. It's simply because supermarkets make a high profit on fresh fruit and vegetables and they have discovered they sell more of them if they're near the entrance. According to research carried out by supermarkets, customers prefer fresh goods to come first. Maybe it's because many of us arrive at the store concentrating on the kinds of fruit and vegetable we need. Once we've got that out of the way we can relax and do the rest of the shopping at leisure. Another reason is that if we see fresh goods first, the sight and smell of all those rosy apples and glossy aubergines give a "feel good" impression of freshness and quality which we carry around the store. Nowadays, trolleys should have a separate compartment where you can place fruit and vegetables so they don't get squashed.

Question 2. "Do they have to pipe smells of freshly baked bread around stores? I always end up buying an extra loaf or a cake because the smell is just so tempting.

Answer. That's what the store is counting on! It's well-known in the retail food industry that smell is the most powerful of human senses when it comes to influencing our choice of where we shop and what we buy. For years, some stores have been piping smells of freshly baked bread and real coffee through the air-conditioning to get appetites going. But this may be counterproductive, retail consultants point out: "If you are doing your shopping at lunch or dinner time when yon are already hungry, the smell of baking may send you straight to the bread counter and then out of the store so you can eat quickly."

Question 3. "Why is it that supermarkets change their layout so often? Just when I have speeded up my shopping by knowing where everything is, they move the section!"

Answer. This is another way of trying to make you buy things you thought you didn't need. Supermarkets make most of their money out of fresh foods and "luxury" snacks and far less on essentials like milk, sugar and bread. So everyday items are scattered around the store because in order to get them, you have to pass the "high earners" and, hopefully, suddenly decide to buy some. The eyecatching display on the unit at the end of a row does not necessarily mean that the goods are the bargain of the week, as you may think. Manufacturers sometimes pay the supermarket to put their brands in the best positions. Among the best are the places across the ends of units where customer traffic is very high.

Question 4. "Why does my supermarket have to play music all the time? It drives me mad and I can't avoid it since it's the only store I can reach conveniently."

Answer. This may be an attempt to please customers – so they will enjoy shopping more or a way of projecting an image. One supermarket plays 1960s music to go with its decor. Another sets out simply to please - playing 1950s and 1960s music in the morning when old customers do most of their shopping and pop music in the evenings and on Saturdays for a younger audience, and music that appeals to the whole family on a Sunday. Some stores use music to increase their profits by playing slow waltzes or light classics on quiet days like Mondays, to keep customers browsing and buying. At busier times like Saturdays, they'll increase the tempo to encourage customers to move quickly through the store. A recent supermarket study reported a 38% increase in sales when the store played slow music compared to fast. However, you can shop in silence at some supermarkets, which never play music – their customers say it puts them off.

Question 5. "Why do I always choose the queue that moves the slowest?"

Answer. Perhaps you're too considerate! For example, don't think the wider checkouts marked "disabled" are exclusively for wheelchairs. If there are no wheelchair customers waiting, anyone is welcome to use them. And if you're in a real hurry, avoid the check assistant wearing a 'trainee' badge - a sign of possible delay. Checkouts could become a thing of the past anyway. One supermarket is testing a hand-held unit which customers use themselves as they shop. It reads and records the prices of groceries and then totals the bill... but you still have to pay before you leave.