Avoid the supermarket rip offs
Level: Advanced
Objective: To discuss the tricks supermarkets use to get you to spend more money.
Словарный запас: layout, tricks of the trade, aisle, treats, confectionery, own-brand, prominently, range, wandering aimlessly, going to waste, rotisserie, wafting, wising-up, ploys
“From the layout to the special offers and even the smells, supermarkets are designed to try and make us spend more money. So in this episode of moneywise TV we show you the tricks of the trade.
Most supermarket’s fruit and veg aisle is at the beginning of the store, but even before you get into the store proper it’s likely in the entrance there’s plenty of more tempting treats to put in your shopping basket. Special offers on confectionery and bakery items are commonly displayed here. If you want everyday essentials like milk or eggs you’ll have to walk to the other side of the shop to get them, all the while looking at lots of other items on the way.
Have you also noticed how branded products and special offers are at convenient eye level, while own-brand products are at less easy to see and reach ground level?
Instead of continuous long aisles, supermarkets are increasingly creating split aisles; the idea behind this is to display special offers more prominently at the end of half-way points of the aisles. If all this wasn’t enough, supermarkets also regularly change where certain items are kept, just so that you end up spending a little longer in the shop looking for them.
Now you know the tricks, what can you do to keep your own shopping costs down? First of all, consider buying own-brand for everyday items, then use mysupermarket.co.uk to compare supermarkets and find which is the cheapest for you based on your regular shop.
If you use it through rewards website maximiles.co.uk you’ll earn a point for every pound you spend which can then be exchanged for a range of gifts from CDs to days out. On top of this, shoppers with Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Acado can still collect their loyalty card points. Making a shopping list will stop you wandering aimlessly around the shops, and if you’re extra organised, have an idea of what you plan to cook in a week, to stop you buying extra food that just ends up going to waste. Finally, don’t go food shopping on an empty stomach. Not only are we faced with row after row of food to look at, but the smell of freshly baked goods or rotisserie chicken wafting through the store adds to the temptation to buy extra food.
Wising-up to the supermarkets clever ploys and spending a bit more time working out what you need from the shops should see you save money at the checkout. For more money-saving ideas on everyday expenses, go to our website.”
Comprehension Check Questions:
- What items are commonly placed at the front of the store and which at the back? Why?
- What do supermarkets do to make you spend more time in the shop?
- Name 3 things you can do to stop spending extra money in the supermarket.
- Why is it bad to go shopping on an empty stomach?
Discussion Questions
- Do you agree with the documentary?
- Do supermarkets in your country employ the same tactics?
- Do you normally plan what you are going to buy or do you chose things at random?
- Is there a difference between own-brand products and branded products?
- Are you ever concerned about what you buy and eat from the supermarket?