Perils of in Store Decisions

How stores get you to buy, revealed

There's a reason those cookies are staring you in the eye - right where you can see them and snatch them up. Here's how to outsmart grocery store marketing tricks.

Maybe you think you're in control as you wheel around the grocery aisles. But you're not. Food manufacturers have studied the best way to part you from your cash, says syndicated newspaper columnist Stephanie Nelson. Here's what they don't want you to know.

There's a method to the madness._

The sale cookies aren't next to the expensive coffee by accident. A lot of strategic marketing goes into food placement to get you to make impulse purchases and buy more. Stick to the perimeter, and you're more likely to get healthy, fresh stuff. The higher priced items (i.e. snacks, cookies & beverages) are often in the middle.

It's fresher if you ask._

Grill your grocer about when fresh fish, meat, produce, and dairy deliveries come in.

In-your-face displays build business. _There are prime spots at the end of each aisle where stores entice you with stuff that isn't all that healthy or cheap.

Convenience costs._

You'll dish out top dollar for paper, health, and personal-care products at the grocery store. Brand-name toothpaste, for example, costs about one third more than at a discount store. Pet food is 33 percent less at pet supermarkets.

"Sale" is just a word..

A supermarket will slap a sale sign on a dime reduction just to get your attention. Good sales are 50 percent off, or buy one, get one free. Add a coupon, and you can save as much