I never had thought much about the intense marketing logistics behind the supermarket business until one day when I was in a tremendous hurry. I dashed into my favorite market, only to find it had been rearranged completely the previous night.

The harder I searched for the items I needed the more frustrated I became. Finally, I went to the store manager to register my complaint. He told me that this is business as usual for a profit-conscious modern-day supermarket. He then gave me a "behind the scenes" tour of the supermarket business.

It seems that stores that are the size of typical supermarkets allocate a large portion of their advertising budgets to appealing to customers' compulsive shopping habits. They count heavily on customers who make their buying decisions on the spot. That means it is critical that every item on every shelf is placed strategically to capture the fascination of the customer.

It's a proven fact that the typical shopper quickly memorizes the layout of the store, knows exactly where to find the items needed, and becomes oblivious to everything else. But by turning the place upside down every year or so, the store can "introduce" its regular shoppers to thousands of products they might never have noticed if the store remained unchanged.

If that is the goal, it certainly worked on me. In my quest to find the regular stuff, I saw all kinds of things I never had seen before.

I learned the average food shopper spends more than an hour every week shuffling up and down the aisles of the all-American supermarket, snatching item after item, building an expensive tower in a basket.

At the end of the exercise, the score is tallied, and in most cases, the supermarket is the clear winner.

The most expensive and frivolous items usually are placed at eye level. Baking staples such as flour and sugar are commonly on low shelves or so high up you have to reach for them. Eye-catching displays with lights, bells and whistles usually promote junk-type and expensive items, even though they are piled up to appear to be on sale.

The center aisles usually house the prepared and brightly packaged over-processed food items. Either a hot deli or a bakery in the store will be emitting heavenly smells to appeal to your senses and get those compulsive buying juices flowing. The perimeter of the store is the safe zone: produce, dairy and meat.

You probably can't avoid the supermarket completely, and it is difficult to remain completely true to your shopping list and financial plan. But you can enter the supermarket with extreme caution, fully aware of the many ways your compulsiveness is being tested. And you can walk in with personal protection: a shopping list and only the amount of cash you intend to spend. Leave all of the plastic and your checkbook at home so you will not be able to overspend.

Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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