Perimeter

Endcap Displays (Front and Rear)

Why They're Here: Product manufacturers pay for prominent “endcap” placement — on the ends of the aisles — to advertise new or popular products.
Shopping Tip: Display doesn’t necessarily mean discount. “A lot of times, (the items in) endcaps are just something new or in season,” says William Schober, editorial director of P-O-P Times. “If it’s on sale, believe me, it will be prominently marked. And watch endcaps for a recurring pattern. Leading brands often compete this way. If Coke is on sale in an endcap display one week, it will probably be Pepsi the following week.” If you don’t see the brand you like, wait for it to come around.

"Retail-Tainment" (Cooking Demonstrations, Displays, Free Samples

Why It's Here: Sampling stations slow you down while also exposing you to new products.
Shopping Tip: To avoid unnecessary hunger-driven purchases, head right for the free samples if you arrive at the supermarket on an empty stomach.

Deli and Coffee Bar

Why They're Here: If you’re hungry for lunch, you will shop in a hurry. But if you can have lunch right in the store, “you will stay and relax,” says Wendy Liebmann, founder and president of WSL Strategic Retail.
Shopping Tip: The food quality at in-store delis is usually good. They tend to use fresh products that will encourage customers to buy after they eat.

Pharmacy

Why It's Here: “If you are filling a prescription, ” Liebmann says, “you need to wait, spend more time, and put another item in your basket.”
Shopping Tip: Drop off prescriptions before you start grocery shopping to minimize idle waiting. You may find better deals on health and beauty products in a supermarket than at a drugstore. There is a large profit margin on these products, which supermarkets are sometimes willing to cut into to gain more regular pharmacy business.

Center Aisles

General Merchandise, Cooking Ingredients, Canned Goods

Why They're Here: To draw consumers deeper into the market and expose them to nonessential items along the way.
Shopping Tip: Stay focused by making a list.

Back of Store

Dairy Products, Eggs, Meat, and Other Staples

Why They're Here: “Stores typically put these items in the farthest reaches of the store to expose customers to the maximum amount of product on their ‘quick trip,’ so they will impulsively buy other things,” says Mike Tesler, instructor of retailing at Bentley College.
Shopping Tip: As with produce, take eggs and milk from the back of the case; older merchandise tends to be pushed forward.

Registers and Exit

Impulse Buys (Candy, Magazines)

Why They're Here: To turn waiting time into buying time. This is the most profitable area of the store, Underhill says.
Shopping Tip: “Express” doesn’t always mean faster. Studies have shown that the wait in the “express” lane is almost identical to the regular checkout wait — three minutes and 11 seconds on average, says Craig Childress, director of prototype design research at Envirosell. So go with what seems to be the shortest line, express or not.