SALES TECHNIQUES

I wanted to buy salt- but I bought sweets indeed!

(1) Why is the section nearest to the entrance of a supermarket for fruit and vegetable? Why are the
salt and sugar on the lowest shelves? Why are the sweets near the cash desk? We have investigated
the secrets of the supermarket for you!
(2) Most of us have visited a supermarket. It is almost impossible not to, since they are increasingly
replacing traditional shops. At the same time, there has been a lot of development in sales
techniques, and today they are very sophisticated indeed. In fact, we may go to the supermarket a
lot, we may not be aware of all the techniques being used to make us buy even more: so lets have a
stroll round our local supermarket and have a look at some of these strategies. And, the next time you
go shopping, check to see if the same techniques are being used in your supermarket.
(3) At the entrance to the supermarket, you will usually find the fruit and vegetable section: such
natural products look beautiful, and are displayed in a way to enhance this. The assistants here wear
clean, white clothing. In this way, the supermarket welcomes you in, and indicates that everything
you find there will be natural, colorful, and fresh. As well as this, the fruit and the vegetables section
reminds you of traditional street markets, where you can find good bargains and prices. Here, its just
an illusion: in fact, the supermarkets make a lot of money on these sorts of items than on others.
(4)
Did you know that the busiest parts of the supermarket are the external areas? This is where
youll find the things that the supermarket wants to most to sell. Its in these perimeters that youll
find fresh products such as meat, fish, cheese, and so on: the supermarket earns a lot from them as
well. Near these fresh foods, you will see a lot of products whose prices have been heavily reduced,
these products are discounted: so you are waiting to be served, you might glance around and see
something that looks like an unmissable bargain.
(5) Have a look at the level of the different items as well. General necessities- salt, sugar, nappies,
etc.- tend to be on the low shelves, where they are not so easy to get at it: it doesnt matter, because
you have got to buy them anyway! At eye-level, you will find the things the supermarket wants to buy
Brand X Biscuits, for instance. If you look down a bit, you will see Brand Y Biscuits- which are much
cheaper. Normally, the lower down a product, the cheaper it is. And children? Well, they will find the
things they like at just the right height for them to see so they can tug on their parents hands and
say mummy, daddy, can I have?
(6) Coming to the end of our shopping trip, what do we find? Bottled mineral water, very often. And
why? Because a package of bottled water is awkward and heavy, and so putting it near the end saves
the customer same effort; and also because it would take up a lot of space in the trolley- space that
could be filled, hopes the shop, with those fundamentally unnecessary items.
(7) You will see some examples near the cash desk: sweets, snacks, chewing gum, batteries,
videocassettes, etc. things that, while you are queuing to pay, might make you suddenly think: oh,
that would be nice or that would be handy and they are not too expensive And one more little
item pop into your trolley- just as the supermarket planned!

Exercise 1: read the text quickly and tick the items which are mentioned in the text.
ab-

Some techniques to make us buy more ..

The size of the supermarket ...

c-

The places of some products in the supermarket

d-

The reasons for places of some products in the supermarket ..

e-

The personnel attitudes towards customers .

f-

The cleanness of the supermarket ..

Answers: a, c, d

Exercise 2: read the text in detail and match the beginnings in A with their endings in B.
There are more endings than you need.
1-

The number of traditional shops is

The items children like most are put on the
decreasing
shelves
2The place of the bottled water isnt in the
internal areas
Fresh products are at the external areas
3-

Expensive items are usually found

4-

Basic needs arent found at eye-level

5-

The fruit and vegetable section at the

entrance makes people

6-

Sweets, gums and snacks are on the

shelves near the cash desk

7-

Supermarkets aim to make people

8-

People want to buy more

a- be in the mood that you are in a traditional street market

b- because they are so small that there is always space in the trolley for them

c-to make people buy them when they are waiting to pay
d- to buy the things they dont need as well
e- when they have credit cards
f- because everyone needs and has to buy them in any case
g- while supermarkets are built everywhere
h- at higher shelves
i- in order that customers look the products at the discount while waiting to be served
j- because they dont have enough choices for a product
k-at lower shelves
l- not to fill the trolley with it
m- which can be seen easily by children
n- to buy the things they only need
o- when a products price is reduced

Answers: 1-g, 2-l, 3-h, 4-f, 5-a, 6-c, 7-d, 8-o, 9-m, 10-i

Exercise 3: read the text and find the words from article according to their
definitions
1- Outer edge of an area (paragraph 4)
2- Something that is sold for less than its usual price or value (paragraph 4)
..
3- To fill particular amount of space (paragraph 6) ..