 Americans spend more than $150 at the grocery store every week. And according to Gallup, that's more than most consumers would like to spend. But it's not your fault. Grocery stores have razor thin margins and have every incentive to try to get you to spend more money. 30 million people go to the grocery store across the US every day. And if supermarkets could get them to spend just $10 more, that would mean an additional $5 million in profit every day. So grocery stores have come up with some ingenious ways to subconsciously trick people into handing over more of their hard earned income. Let's talk about that. Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an upload and let's jump in. In a grocery store, placement is king. The best products, or moreover, the products with the highest margins are the products that you're most likely to run into. This is fairly common in the entire store. Do you know where the items with the highest margins are? They're the ones located near the cash registers, like the candy, gum, and soda that lie in the aisles. Most items in a grocery store have a profit margin from 1 to 3 percent, but the margins of items near the cash registers can top 40 percent. Retailers are doing two things here. The first, by putting these high margin items in the one part of the store that every customer is guaranteed to walk past, they're increasing the chance they make a sale. And the second, more subtly, is that retailers are preying on your decision fatigue. After your brain is tired from making all those difficult food choices earlier, you're more likely to pick up that Kit Kat mentally exhausted, succumbing to an impulsive purchase at the register. To make matters worse, a few stores have started adding lighting to their racks, making those wrappers even more shiny and appealing to sugar craving customers. Another sneaky trick, when was the last time you went down on your knees to get an item from the bottom shelf in Van Isle? And when was the last time you went all the way up in your tippy toes to get something off the top shelf? Almost the time your eyes are at eye level. After all, the saying is eye level is by level. Grocery stores put the most expensive items with their highest margins at eye level, with cheaper options and the store's own brands being placed just higher or just lower. Next time you're in the supermarket, keep note of how many times you need to bend down or stretch to reach something you need. You might just be surprised at how suspiciously conveniently placed everything seems to be. And just like these stores are targeting adult eye level, they target kids eye level too. Next time you're in the supermarket, take a look at where the Easy Mac and the Reese's Puffs are. They're all placed at a trial's eye level, trying to get kids to grab them off the shelves and annoy their parents into getting them. Besides just where they place items on shelves, supermarkets are strategic with where they place items throughout the store. They like to put essentials in the back and spread out from each other. That way, even if you only need to grab a gallon of milk, you'll have to walk through the entire store to grab it, hopefully picking up a few more items along the way. Grocery managers like to tell you that this is purely for logistical reasons. After all, the dairy coolers should be as close to the delivery truck as possible. But is the extra minute it takes to walk the milk to the front of the store really gonna spoil it? By placing milk and other commonly bought items in the back, you have to pass almost every other item in the store first. Besides the layout, supermarkets are going for a very specific aesthetic. Studies repeatedly show that happy people spend more money. And so these stories try to make you feel as upbeat as possible. It starts the second you walk through the door and you hear the generic upbeat music. Music playing in the background isn't the common courtesy you might think it is. Research shows music influences shopping behavior. And stories that play music often see increased sales. Big chains like Walmart and Kroger even employ specific people whose whole job is to create playlists for different times of year that they think will subconsciously improve your mood and get you to spend more. And even further than that, chains have found certain colors attract certain buyers. People are drawn into stores with warm hues, such as reds, oranges, and yellows on the exterior. And cool interior colors like blues and greens often encourage shoppers to spend more. That's why Walmart uses blues and yellows to encourage bigger spending. Recent studies have shown that customer return increases by 15% and stores with the bluer color schemes rather than those with orange ones. And sticking with color warfare, they often have the colorful fruits and veggies near the entrance for when you walk by. That way, these bright and lively colors can help subconsciously boost your mood. And supermarkets aren't just targeting your eyes. Grocery stores engage in old factory warfare on your nostrils, filling the store with tasty smells trying to get you in a hungry mood. Stories aim to bombard all five senses the moment you walk inside. That's why baked goods produce the deli and those tasty rotisserie chickens are usually located near the front of the store. Right away, you'll smell the cookies, and of course, the first thing you'll notice is the fresh muffins are on sale. These are all poised to get you to buy more. This is the same idea with chains like Trader Joe's, Publix and Costco's free samples. They're designed to make you feel more hungry, so you end up buying more. And you know those reward programs enthusiastic cashiers are always trying to get you to sign up for? Some stores like Safeway will offer 20 to 30% discounts on most items if you use your rewards cards or more accurately, charging you a premium for not using one. This isn't meant to help save you a buck. Grocery stores have found it's much cheaper to increase spending among existing clientele rather than trying to steal away customers from competing chains. And these reward programs give valuable information into millions of customer spending habits tracked to specific times of year and regions. With every checkout, stores receive tracking data on your purchases without doing any of the legwork to get it. How much are people in your zip code willing to spend on wine? How much have you spent on dog food this year? What time is the busiest for family shopping sprees? All of this key information is how stores sneakily determine just how far they can push their grocery prices without losing your business. And by catering their promotions and marketing efforts toward these existing customers, they rake in big bucks. And many go even further. Supermarket chains like Harris Teeter, Kroger, or Winn Dixie offer gas reward points for every dollar spent in the store as an incentive to join the program. The more you spend on groceries, the bigger discount you get on every gallon of gas, further incentivizing you to spend by making you feel like you're getting rewarded for every dollar you give away. And supermarket tactics get even sneakier. Bread and milk can look pretty lonely lying in a big shopping cart all alone. But unless you're buying a week's worth of groceries, you should just stick to a basket or even better, use your hands. Shopping carts have almost tripled in size since the 1970s and this wasn't by accident. These stores have found that the larger they make their carts, the more people will impulsively buy trying to mentally fill their carts. Store size matters too. In crowded places, people spend less time shopping, making fewer purchases and feel less comfortable. So grocery stores have been combating this by getting bigger and bigger every decade, trying to make you feel more comfortable so you'll stay shopping for longer. Finally, stores engage in strategic pricing. Similar to electronics retailers, grocery stores resort to comparative pricing to make consumers think they're getting a better deal than they actually are. By putting the average price item next to a more expensive organic item, shoppers will feel better thinking they're saving money by choosing the cheaper item. Really, they're just paying the normal market price. And then, there's still the classic move, making an item end in 99 cents, rather than an even dollar. Because something priced 6.99 will fly off the shelves faster than a $7 item, because it feels a lot cheaper, regardless of the meager penny difference, because people tend to emphasize the number on the left when comparing prices. Well, hopefully now you're better equipped to avoid grocery stores' sneaky tactics, trying to get you to spend more money. If you liked the video, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an upload. And remember, there's always more to learn.