置辦年貨請擦亮眼:超市如何偷走你的錢?大綱

Do you ever wander through the grocery store and end up spending more than you were budgeting for? Don't beat yourself up over it — supermarkets actually have several different strategies to trick customers into blowing bucks. Be on the alert and watch out for the sneaky psychology tactics these stores will try to use on you.

你有過在超市裏逛來逛去，最後卻發現買的比預計要多嗎？對此你不用自責——事實上，超市爲了誘導消費者買更多東西，有很多不同的策略。對這些超市試圖用在你身上的心理學詭計，你可要保持警惕。

1. 10 For $10

1. 10元錢買10樣

10 for $10 sounds like a great deal. However, you'll get the same savings even if you only buy one item, according to the New York Times. A grocery store survey recently found that people bought way more items when they see 10 for $10 deals vs. five for $5 and one for $1 sales. Even if you aren't buying 10 items, your mind will trick you into thinking that the item is such a great deal that you end up buying more of it.

10元錢買10樣聽起來很合算，然而，據紐約時報報道，你就算只買一樣也同樣能省錢。最近一項針對百貨店的調查發現，當人們看到“10元買10樣”、“5元買5樣”、“1元買一樣”時，他們會買更多東西。即使你沒有買十樣，但你會想既然東西這麼划算，那就多買一些好了。

2. Growing Carts

2. 變大的購物車

No, you're not shrinking; it's the grocery carts that are growing. The larger the cart, the more likely you'll end up spending more, so try to stick to a hand basket instead.

不，不是你在縮小，是超市的購物車在變大。購物車越大，你就越有可能消費得更多，所以你還是拿手提籃子吧。

3. Pre-Cut Vegetables and Fruits

3. 事先切好的蔬菜和水果

Pre-cut veggies look so attractive, with their colorful packaging and its promise of less work (no need to wash or chop!). However, they aren't exactly a good deal. Consumer Reports found that pre-cut veggies and fruits can be a lot more expensive than the whole items. The team noted that a $1.50 six-ounce bag of shredded carrots costs about five times more than a similar amount of whole to mention, these pre-cut veggies and fruits go bad faster than their whole counterparts.

事先切好的蔬菜看起來很誘人，有色彩鮮豔的包裝，並且也省去我們不少功夫（不需要清洗和切了）。然而，他們卻並不划算。消費者報告發現事先切好的蔬菜和水果要比未經處理的貴不少。該報告指出，一包1.5美元切好的6盎司胡蘿蔔比沒切過的要貴5倍。更不用說這些處理好的蔬菜水果，比那些完整的壞得更快。

4. Items at the Checkout Counter

4. 收銀臺前的商品

Ever wonder why all those magazines and yummy candy are crammed in the front of checkout counters? It's one of the supermarket's tricks to get you to succumb to last-minute purchases while you're waiting in line.

你有想過爲什麼這些雜誌和美味的糖果都擺在收銀臺前賣嗎？這是超市的詭計之一，當你排隊等候時，還能抓住最後的機會讓你買東西。

5. Where Is Everything?

5. 東西擺在哪？

You think you have the layout of your local supermarket down pat when you find out they changed shelves again! The stores are actually doing it on purpose, because if you don't know where the items are, you'll end up spending more time in the store. More time to browse means more chances to tempt you into buying more items.

當你認爲對超市佈局瞭如指掌時，他們又把貨架換了地方！事實上，超市是有意這樣做的，因爲如果你不知道東西在哪兒，就要花更多時間在超市裏找，找的時間越長，就越可能誘惑你買更多東西。