Know the ‘tricks' of the grocery trade

I was fumbling with some computer cords at my desk when Russ T. Blade reached out and helped get things connected. “Rusty,” as regular readers know, is the miniature, imaginary produce manager who occasionally appears to talk shop.

Rusty: There you go. I know all the connection tricks.

Me: Thanks. Reminds me of some of the tricks, er, I mean the strategies or even lengths that grocers will go to enhance shoppers’ purchases. It happens, you know.

Rusty: It’s OK to say it — the tricks of the trade. In our chain, it begins in the parking lot. We provide easy access. Many times, a chain will pay a city to install traffic lights or turn lanes so customers can easily get into the lot.

Me: In my old chain the front entrance had the HVAC, air curtain and, with the air flow, included the fryer vent from the deli. Nothing like the smell of fresh-frying chicken at the entrance to trigger shoppers’ hunger.

Rusty: It’s no secret that grocers leverage their advantage in many ways. I understand that vendors pay a premium for certain item placement, such as having their product stocked at eye level versus the bottom shelf. It’s all about the grocery chain getting those marketing dollars, assuming the item generates projected volume and gross profit.

Me: It’s not so much the case in the produce aisle. As a seasonal and constantly moving category, we’re more of an inexact science with impulse sales. Although many marketing opportunities exist for promoting certain brands or product lines.

Rusty: I understand that endcap or high-visible product placement provides a chain and suppliers with added volume, so vendors pitch in promotion monies to help drive sales. Same with the weekly ad circular. Want your can of soup on the front page of the ad? That’s usually extra marketing money the grocer reaps.

Me: Other subtle efforts on the consumer side come to mind in the big sales-push picture. Grocers often provide extra-large shopping carts, as some people don’t stop until it’s full. Shoppers tend to favor wide aisles with few obstructions, so that design is often followed. Grocers regularly play music, not necessarily for entertainment — though I once had a store manager who stopped in his tracks every time a Neil Young song played — but the music is intended to slow people down and relax.

Rusty: I get it. Shoppers will spend X amount on average for every minute they’re pushing those oversized carts around. So, the longer they meander, the more they spend.

Me: Visuals will slow shoppers down, too. Some call it theater. We used to showcase rotating oven shelves at our in-store bakeries. The sight, warmth and rich smell of fresh bread is tantalizing. Yum.

Rusty: Grocers hope shoppers arrive hungry. Things like aromas and, of course, samples are a common tactic to enhance or even trigger appetites — which helps build those shopping-basket rings.

Me: These are just a few things that many in the grocery game already know; in the produce department, of course, we push to capture maximum sales with cleanliness, freshness, wide and level displays, vibrant color breaks, suggestive selling, friendly and knowledgeable clerks, recipes, informative signing, ease of shopping, etc.

Rusty: One morning during a grand opening, I was finishing setting up the wet rack. It was absolutely beautiful and so neatly done, even if I do say so myself. I was dead tired though. That’s when the first customer approached and examined my work closely. Expecting a pleasantry or a possible grand-opening compliment, she pressed me instead. She asked if we used “special lights” to make the vegetables look so perfect. I was too tired to argue, so I shook my head and said, “Yeah, you got me. It’s the special lights, all right.”

Me: You didn’t! Well, what did the customer say?

Rusty: Her eyes narrowed in a frown, and as she walked on she said, “I knew it! Tricky grocers!”
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.