Are Stores Manipulating You?

It isn't uncommon for people to complain about rising prices at the store. It is something that you hear everyday. Mostly people blame the economy, but have you ever considered that the store is manipulating you?

People have been taught by their parents, and their parents by their parents, that buying in bulk in cheaper. Normally this can be true, especially when you have the American mentality of shopping one time per month and spending upwards of $300 at one time. It would be hard to admit to yourself that this wouldn't always be true, and, in fact, it ins't.

You see, stores know that people are trained to shop in bundles, unless they simply can't afford to do so. Generally, bundling helps people spend more by causing them to question whether or not they really need the bundle. It is a method of revealing how much we are willing to spend on a certain product. Many of us aren't swayed by a three cent or ten cent sale, but a dollar may do it. So what do stores do?

Think of cereal. When you buy cereal, you might buy the huge bags of cereal which might feed a village for a week. When you first go into the store, you might check the price to see what the price really is and if you suppose it's worth or your child is screaming loud enough, you might buy it. Over time you get accustomed to the price without even checking. It is at these moments when the store makes the move. When sales of a product is high, it is easy for the store to raise prices without making much fuss, because people rationalize the increase, but in fact, with the price increase, it is cheaper to buy the smaller box. This isn't because of a change in demand and more people wanting to buy it, the static statistic over time of purchases make it clear that this option is available.

Wait. Wouldn't you notice that the price changes? Some people do, but the trick is product placement and we're not talking about in the movies. By placing similar goods at different places in the store, people who might notice don't take the time to shop, but simply purchase. The distance is enough either for them to forget or "not bother" because they don't want to take the item back, unless you have a child to take it back for you. Though this might not seem like a big deal to each individual shopper, hundreds of people like you are going through the store and rewarding the store for doing this.

The pattern will continue, however, where people may move to the cheaper item; however, this will not happen over night. If the store has a good economist, it will be simple to determine when to make the switch back. When enough people start purchasing the cheaper item, profits from the change begin to drop and the price of the one may increase to recycle the process to the other item which is now cheaper. This is one method of using sales to get people hooked on buying an item.

In other words, pay attention to what is happening around you! It is easy to get in the habit of buying certain items and not caring about the prices. With effective shopping, over time you might make a significant difference in your standard of living just by being aware.