Have you ever wondered why all of the major supermarkets always place fruit and vegetables right by the front door? According to one expert that is actually a 'wild' reason for the strategic arrangement that you see in Sainsbury's, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose.
Architecture and design expert. Reeves Connelly says every corner of a supermarket is designed to make shoppers spend as much as possible. He told the Mirror: "The amount of thought that goes into grocery store design, from a psychological and marketing standpoint, is absolutely wild."
Talking on his TikTok page @reevcon he explained: "Grocery stores will place the produce section right at the entrance so you'll grab the fruits and vegetables first and then hopefully feel less guilty about grabbing junk food later on."
He also revealed another sneaky tactic: "The only way to reach the exit is by awkwardly walking through the checkout lanes - it's to discourage you from leaving without buying anything."
Reeves shared that supermarkets place fruits and vegetables at the start of stores "so you feel less guilty about grabbing junk food later on". He also noted: "Another way that they get you to spend more money is by arranging the cereal aisle so that the sugary cereals are at a child's eye level so they're more likely to grab one while the healthier options are way up top.."
He further explained that essential items like eggs and bread are often located towards the back of supermarkets, forcing you to "forced to walk through other aisles to get them", potentially picking up extra items. Reeves mentioned that some shops even double the size of their trollies to encourage customers to buy more.
He added: "They are very much aware that these tactics become less effective after you visit the store a few times and get a better sense of where everything is. So they'll regularly move the products to different aisles to disorient you."
Reeves' video quickly gained over one million views as shoppers shared their thoughts. One person commented: "They also put small snacks, chewing gum and stuff like that by the registers, so you throw them in last second."
"Crazy how some people are paid to make people poorer and unhealthier," another viewer remarked. A third said: "This is why I hate grocery shopping. I have to go through a maze just to get eggs and milk."
Another admitted: "Their little tricks always work on me." One person who thinks they're not tricked by shop designs said: "Stores got to realise you cant out awkward me. I'll walk in and walk out empty-handed 2 seconds later if they don't have what I want."
"Jokes on them, I disassociate when shopping," another one joked. "Doesn't work on me," wrote someone else.
