The secret you don’t know: Let’s take a look at the hidden rules in the supermarket

When you walk into a supermarket, you probably want to pick out the healthiest foods for yourself and your family. But the results are often counterproductive, and some foods that do not meet the requirements are put into the shopping cart. Have you ever noticed that among the dazzling array of goods in supermarkets, the placement of food hides many secrets...

Secret 1: Fresh milk is usually placed at the back

A reporter visited several large supermarkets in Chaoyang District, Haidian District and Changping District in Beijing. In major supermarkets, the reporter found that on the shelves of milk, yogurt, packaged cooked meat and other food in each supermarket, when people look straight ahead, the first things they see, the products placed on the outside, almost all have production dates that are not the latest. Instead, the closer they are to the inside, the closer the production date is, which means they are "fresher".

Expert decryption:

Some experts told reporters, "How to display goods is a marketing strategy of supermarkets. Placing goods in different positions can greatly promote sales." Usually, items with higher profits are placed on the right, because most people are right-handed and always like to take things on the right. Some less fresh foods are usually placed in this location.

Foods such as milk and beverages with earlier production dates are placed parallel to the customer's line of sight. Survey data shows that placing products parallel to the customer's eye line can increase sales by 70%. This is also the best position to place items in the supermarket. The second best position is waist level, and the third best position is parallel to the knees. The goods placed in these positions have higher profits.

In addition, a well-known domestic expert strongly recommends that you try not to buy food that is on sale. "This way of buying and selling is also called naked selling. The air circulation in the supermarket is poor and there are many people. It is unhygienic for food to be exposed to the air for a long time. You should try to buy bagged or packaged food." When buying things in the freezer, remember the principle of "good goods sink to the bottom." When it comes to daily necessities, if you want to buy something with a high cost-performance ratio, you should look at the upper and lower parts of the shelves. At the same time, you should also pay attention to the entrance of the supermarket. Merchants like to put cheap goods there, so you can go there to buy some economical and practical daily necessities.

Secret 2: Use lighting to make food look fresher

When we go to the supermarket, we will find that all kinds of meats displayed there are red, tender and fresh, and all kinds of vegetables are emerald green. When you buy it home and look at it again, it’s not the case.

Expert decryption:

It turns out that supermarkets deliberately use pink light to illuminate meat, making it appear extra tender, and use green light to illuminate vegetables, making them appear greener. In addition, experts remind that many cooked foods appear to be freshly cooked under warm light, but this is not the case.

Secret 3: Buy one get one free

Consumers do not pay attention to the prices of goods they do not need when shopping. Based on this consumption habit, merchants raise prices and then give away free gifts. For example, a bottle of shampoo should originally cost 20 yuan, but now when you buy a bottle of shampoo you get a piece of soap worth 2 yuan for free. However, the supermarket has actually quietly raised the price of shampoo to 22 yuan. Customers who buy shampoo will definitely feel it is a good deal if they get a bar of soap for free.

Expert decryption:

A well-known company's many years of promotional experience believes that discount signs can increase sales by 23%, "especially promotional foods, which are basically a new item sold with an old one." To avoid being attracted by bundled promotions, consumers are advised to focus on what you want to buy when shopping, rather than on the items that are bundled with it or given as a gift.

Secret 4: Bulk meat that is not sold on the same day is returned to the manufacturer for reprocessing and resale

During the investigation, the reporter found that in some supermarkets, this phenomenon occasionally occurs: the food sold in the deli counter has not yet reached the date marked on it.

Expert decryption:

"Delicious meat marked with a current production date is not actually fresh. For example, the sausages you buy today may be mixed with sausages that were not sold out a few days ago." Experts also remind us that the more layers of packaging a cooked food has, the less fresh it is. Generally speaking, many cooked foods such as meat and sausages are wrapped in plastic wrap. One layer of wrapping indicates that the food is relatively fresh. The more layers, the more it can cover up its staleness. In many cases, the packaging bag slips off because the food loses water, so it has to be wrapped in more layers. In addition, it is best not to buy cooked food and soy products that are discounted or on sale. Be careful when buying bulk cooked food in supermarkets - the bulk cooked marinated goose heads sold in supermarkets may be unhygienic, so consumers are advised to buy them with caution...

Secret 5: There are the fewest people in the supermarket between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning

Relevant surveys show that at this time, the flow of people in supermarkets is the smallest, but vegetables, fresh meat and seafood products are the freshest. The supermarket is most crowded after 8:00 p.m., but many foods, such as vegetables, seafood, and soy products, are no longer fresh and start to be discounted. Experts reveal: Bulk fresh meat is available on the shelves in the morning, and vegetables are also the freshest. Purchasing these two foods at this time is the most cost-effective. But the same cannot be said for fruits, because many fruits need to be stored for two or three days. If you sprinkle some water on the surface of the fruit every day, it will still look fresh. Regarding the discount promotions in supermarkets at night, some experts said that there is no free lunch in the world. As for food, anything on discount is definitely not fresh, especially cooked meat and soy products, which must be purchased with caution. I still think it’s best to buy vegetables and fruits at the farmer’s market. The food there is fresher, and in many places the supplies are the same as those in the supermarket, so the prices are cheaper. If you go to the supermarket, try to go in the morning.

Secret 6: Supermarket specials aren’t cheap

For example, a bag of biscuits with a retail price of 3.3 yuan may be sold in packs of three at a special price of 10 yuan. Customers who do not shop frequently and are not familiar with product prices often buy when they see a special offer and are inevitably deceived.

Expert decryption:

When supermarkets have promotions, they will launch some special-priced items. Many people think that special-priced items are items that are cheap. Merchants take advantage of people's misunderstanding and mark some normal-priced or even high-priced items as special offers for sale.