It's a Matter of ...... Grocery Store Tricks

This information comes from the Dollar Stretcher Magazine. It helps you become more aware of your shopping environment and hopefully you are getting as much for your dollar as you can.

• Trick One: Putting the Items You Need Right at the Back
  How many times have you been to the grocery store just to buy bread and came home with bags and bags of food? This is not accidental. Retailers know the items that most people buy, items like bread, butter and eggs. So they place these items far apart and at the back of the store. That way you have to walk past all the other products just to get that bread you came in for. And on the way to these items they place special items to tempt you.
• Trick Two: Easy Reach Shopping
  Retailers know that people buy most often the products sitting around eye level. Retailers actually pay grocery stores to have their products placed on that center shelf. This extra payment also tends to end up on the price. Next time you reach for a product, take a second and check the shelves above and below. More often than not there will be another version of the same product sitting just a little higher or lower.
• Trick Three: Specials
  There are always specials on products, but not all of them are really worth buying. Some specials are cheaper than usual, but still not cheap enough that you would actually buy them. Don't be fooled by the tag saying "save $2.50." You aren't really saving if another brand is cheaper than this special price. Compare the special price with other brands and see if the price is really cheap. If it is, stock up, assuming the product keeps.
• Trick Four: Special Products
  Grocery stores love to have special products in the aisle for special prices, usually items you don't expect to find in a grocery store. Things like appliances or saucepan sets. You see that saucepan set sitting there with a big "special" sign over it and you think that you have been lucky to find a bargain. But if you seen that same saucepan set in a home ware store, you would not even notice it. Always remind yourself that you have not really been lucky enough to find something that special. And ask yourself whether you really need it and whether it really is it a good price, or whether you may be able to get it cheaper somewhere else.
• Trick Five: Price Check
  Grocery stores make mistakes. Especially for products that are advertised on sale, check what price they actually scan at. Many times a product will actually scan for the higher original price. Instead of standing there bored as the items are scanned, check the prices, just in case.
• Trick Six: Buying Non-Grocery Items
  Grocery stores also stock those items that aren't really groceries, things like plants, batteries, and toasters. When you see just one of these items sitting on the shelf, it can seem like a good buy. There are no similar products to compare it with. Often this means people spend more on these items then they would be willing to if they saw the product in a specialty store. You are walking along with a cart full of goods so you just throw it in. But most often, you could go to a specialty store and buy that same product for a much cheaper price. The grocery store is the best place to get groceries, but not always the best place to get other items.
• And Finally - A Few Tips to Save Money in the Grocery Store Don't shop while hungry. Hunger makes you want to buy everything.
  If the grocery store has a bakery, go to the bakery section last. That smell of bread will only make you feel hungry. And then you will buy more of everything.
  If you go just to pick up a few things, take a basket, not a cart. That way you will fight the urge to throw in lots of other things.
  Write down the prices of special items and check what they scan at.
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