Marion Nestle's The Supermarket: Prime Real Estate

The Supermarket “Prime Real Estate” describes how Marion Nestle is explaining to her readers how supermarkets and grocery stores all around the world manipulate shoppers into impulse buying items that are not necessary needs. In her essay “The Supermarket: Prime Real Estate,” she shows how much research has been done to have stores design to the correct layout so their customers spend more money than they intended. Also, it describes how researchers have conducted studies to prove that the placement of items (typically junk food) in the store, will sell more if put in a designated area where people will be able to notice it them, or walk right by it. Although, Nestle mentions the responsibility of customers to shop healthy, the author argues …show more content…
In most household most shoppers will keep a list in their kitchen and whenever they will run out of a product or item they will write it on the list. Although, the list seems to expand as the customers walk, around the store to find what they came there to buy. Nestle uses “products”, “items”, and “merchandise” for the relationship of what the “consumer”, “customer”, or “shopper” will buy in the “supermarket”, “grocery store” or “The marketplace.” (Nestle, 2015, p. 496-504). Research says that “Most shoppers pick up two additional products for every item on the list” (Nestle, 2015, p.504). All this research has been conducted to figure out the correct layout of the store for the supermarket to make the most profit. “The guiding principle of supermarket layout is the same: products seen most sell best” (Zif, Ayal, & Orbach, 1971). “They make decisions about which product to sell and, therefore, which products you buy. This creates demand by putting some items where you can not miss them” (Nestle, 2015, p.501). Therefore, most items placed in the best selling area tend to be more unhealthy thus, stating that these stores have control over what their customers