Have you ever gone grocery shopping with a grocery list of items to get, but then walked out of the store with more things than your grocery list? Grocery stores are spaces that are designed to make you spend more money. Strategic aisle placements and product positions follow a deliberate strategy rooted in consumer psychology and decades of behavioral research.
Have you ever wondered why you walk out with items you never intended to buy? Research indicates that 60% to 70% of grocery store purchases are unplanned, according to studies in retail psychology.
Think about your last shopping trip. Did you stick to your list?
The average shopper spends 23.4 minutes inside a grocery store in 2024, based on data from JLL’s Grocery Report. During those minutes, stores expose you to thousands of products arranged in specific patterns to trigger purchases. Retailers invest millions in spatial design research to understand how you move, what you see, and what makes you buy.