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That's called a loss-leader strategy. It's the same strategy fishermen use when they invest a small amount of money at the bait store before a fishing trip. A

That's called a loss-leader strategy. It's the same strategy fishermen use when they invest a small amount of money at the bait store before a fishing trip. As you said, it's a lure. The strategy is not exclusive to dollar stores. > Like other retailers, a dollar store's interior layout is set up so that commonly purchased staples like cleaning supplies and milk are in the back of the store. This requires shoppers to walk through other aisles, resulting in impulse buys. So, people's thoughts and decisions are affected by what is immediately in front of their eyes, despite their considered intentions arrived at through deliberation. We all know that's true because it happens to us, and we've all experienced forgetting something until we walk out of the house, and then returning to inside the house or room before we can remember it again. Our thoughts are significantly dependent upon our circumstances. What's surprising is that the full impact of our non-independence of thought has not been well accounted for by philosophers who speculate about the concept of free will.

the_lonely_road 5y ago
I disagree with your characterization of this being non-independence of thought. You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s not on your list because you didn’t want it when you went to the store. You saw it, and now you know about it, and now you want it, so you buy it. I never understand people who try to make this seem nefarious. You walk past 10,000 things you didn’t think about and don’t want so you just walk past it without picking it up. There obviously some small exceptions, like filling the checkout lane with candy because they know kids are going to harass the parents, but in general it’s about the first strategy. Show people things they want that they didn’t know they wanted when they walked in so they will spend more money in your store.
- IncRnd 5y ago
  Nobody called it "nefarious shopping." It is called "impulse buying," and stores are configured to maximize impulse buys whether through candy at the checkout lane or something else. Stores are arranged in the front decompression zone, the front, the center, checkout, etc. for this reason.
- wombatmobile 5y ago
  > You don’t know what you don’t know. We all know and expect soda, chips, chocolate, and other highly fattening snack foods to be in the store, prominently displayed near checkouts, often advertised at a discount on sale. > It’s not on your list because you didn’t want it when you went to the store. Right. That's because in our considered state of mind, we reject those dietary choices as unhealthy. And yet, we end up buying it after we are exposed to retail layouts that are designed by psychologists to maximise the profit of the store owner. > I never understand people who try to make this seem nefarious. What would you call it?

the_lonely_road 5y ago

I disagree with your characterization of this being non-independence of thought. You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s not on your list because you didn’t want it when you went to the store. You saw it, and now you know about it, and now you want it, so you buy it. I never understand people who try to make this seem nefarious. You walk past 10,000 things you didn’t think about and don’t want so you just walk past it without picking it up. There obviously some small exceptions, like filling the checkout lane with candy because they know kids are going to harass the parents, but in general it’s about the first strategy. Show people things they want that they didn’t know they wanted when they walked in so they will spend more money in your store.

IncRnd 5y ago
Nobody called it "nefarious shopping." It is called "impulse buying," and stores are configured to maximize impulse buys whether through candy at the checkout lane or something else. Stores are arranged in the front decompression zone, the front, the center, checkout, etc. for this reason.
wombatmobile 5y ago
> You don’t know what you don’t know. We all know and expect soda, chips, chocolate, and other highly fattening snack foods to be in the store, prominently displayed near checkouts, often advertised at a discount on sale. > It’s not on your list because you didn’t want it when you went to the store. Right. That's because in our considered state of mind, we reject those dietary choices as unhealthy. And yet, we end up buying it after we are exposed to retail layouts that are designed by psychologists to maximise the profit of the store owner. > I never understand people who try to make this seem nefarious. What would you call it?