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Sneaky supermarkets and the psychology of motivation

Kim Arnold

Updated: 1 day ago


Ever gone to the supermarket for bread and milk and come away £80 poorer with a XXL pack of Sugar-Coated Frosted Chocolate Bombs™, a jar of artisan olives, and a paddling pool?


Me too! <hangs head in shame>


I do it all the time.


But it’s not our fault. Supermarkets are sneaky. They draw on a whole range of modern psychological influence tactics to get us to spend more.


They know grocery shopping isn’t the most pleasant chore for most of us. In the world of advertising, it’s called a grudge purchase.


(Because if you didn’t have to spend money on milk, you’d happily spend it on something fun instead.)


But they also know we’re affected by cues when we’re hungry/bored/indecisive about dinner, so they make the most of these emotions with their in-store display strategies. For example


  • Having tempting items at the front of the store that all magically go together i.e. strawberries, meringue, and whipped cream

  • Placing staple foods like milk and bread far from the entrance and far apart from each other, so you have to trawl the whole supermarket to get to them

  • Hiding essentials like eggs to increase shopping time (I can NEVER find the eggs – can you?)Supermarkets are absolute experts on behavioural science to get us to do what they want.


And you can learn how to use basic human behaviour in your favour too – in your emails, your presentations, your meetings, you name it.


Understanding the psychology of motivation is a power skill like no other in today’s workplace.


But let me be clear.


You’re not hiding the eggs — but you do need to appreciate how people think if you want them to act.


And we all want a piece of the action, don’t we?!


I’ll be writing more about motivation over the coming weeks.


And going big on psychology in brand new chapters of the next edition of Email Attraction.

I think you’re going to like it…

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