The Sneaky Reason Your Supermarket's Bakery Is Located In The Front Of The Store

Given that supermarkets operate on thin profit margins, they seize any chance they can to increase revenue. For example, grocery stores put milk and eggs at the back of the store so you'll buy other items along the way — just one of the shady tactics supermarkets use to get you to spend more dough. There is also a reason grocery retailers install bakery departments right in the front of the store. According to Chip Carter, the creator and host of the television series, "Where The Food Comes From," it's the "oldest trick in the book."

"'We eat with our eyes' is a watchword in the food world, and nowhere is that more true than the supermarket," Carter said. Oftentimes, when we pass by enticing food, our brains begin to crave said fare, whether we're hungry or not. Yet, the grocery store bakery offers more than just visual appeal. "In a restaurant or your own kitchen, aroma is the first clue. Less so in the store," Carter said. "But if the bakery's working at the moment, it's double enticement: Not only are you looking at all these craveable creations as soon as you come through the door, you're smelling them, too!"

Typically, when people go to the supermarket, they plan to stick to a shopping list. But catching a whiff of freshly baked muffins can throw folks off their game. "Shoppers are susceptible to baked goods because they're human. Simple as that," Carter said. "'It all looks so good ... it all smells so good ... and I'm suddenly soooooo hungry!'"

The bakery encourages impulse buys

Grocery stores are full of products that aren't generally on someone's shopping list, like those overpriced grocery store kitchen tools you can get cheaper almost anywhere else. A bakery department located at the front of the store encourages folks to get comfortable as soon as they walk in, but Chip Carter said that wasn't always the case. "Years ago, grocers didn't pay much attention to how departments looked," he said. "They were functional — get in, spend money, get out."

Oh, how the times have changed. "Now the goal is to make you linger," Carter said. "Bakeries in some stores now look more like cafés, and you can have a latte and a croissant while you cool your heels before tackling the freezer case." The bakery lets customers relax and abandon their shopping lists, and instead, opt to peruse areas of the store they might otherwise avoid. "Most grocery stores are laid out to draw you around the perimeter — that's where the more expensive items are," Carter said. "Staples that everybody needs are typically in the middle."

Buying things you didn't intend to purchase doesn't necessarily increase the company's profit margins, but it does boost revenue. Say the average profit margin at your local grocer is a typical 2%; If the retailer sells $10,000 worth of goods, that's $200 gained. Getting customers to explore the layout is a fantastic way of increasing earnings. Carter added, "That's also why, just as soon as you get your store's layout memorized, they restock the shelves and move everything — they want you to have to keep going so you'll keep impulse-buying."

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