Placement

I watched a special on the behind the scenes world of grocery stores and what all goes into being successful.  I never knew how much went into planning the placement of products in the store to get you to buy more “stuff.”  As one of the participants in the program put it, grocery store layout is a huge exercise in the psychology of the wants and needs of consumers. 

Suppliers strive to get the best location possible.  Better location equals better sales equals more money equals success.  The three most coveted placement locations are line of site on the shelves, the end caps on aisles, and impulse area at the cash registers.  For instance, eggs and milk are two of the most purchased items, and where do you typically find them, at the back of most stores.  At the store I shop at most often, I have to go by the hot food counter, deli, bakery, and fresh produce to get to the milk and egg area.  That’s a lot of opportunities to buy more “stuff.” 

I choose to believe the placement principle applies to the people in our lives too.  Think about all the people we walk by in just one day to get where we’re going both literally and emotionally.  Just like products on the shelf at the grocery store, we have an option with every person was pass in life.  We can walk by and say nothing, act like we do not even see them, or we can engage them and say hi.  Placement is inevitable but our reaction is totally our choice.