I stopped at the one of the leading supermarkets over the
weekend but only went there because they have a great deli with the best
marinated and cooked steak tips.  They
are the best!  

While I was there, I
picked up a few other things…organic milk, some ice cream for dessert, English
muffins and other bread, some produce and cereal.  As I was placing the items into the cart, I thought
to myself, “these prices seem really high—I don’t think I pay this much at
either of the other stores where I frequently shop.”  But I continued.  

When I got to the check out, I had spent
almost $100, didn’t have my cloth shopping bags because I only thought I was
going in for 1 or 2 items…  

Just like most
shoppers, I bought things that were not on my list.  According
to a recent article in Drug Store News,
new research from the Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research indicates 9-out-of-10 shoppers still
buy items not on their list.  Based on the
research, among those who strayed from their shopping lists, 66% of them said
were motivated by a sale or promotion, 30% said they found a coupon and 23%
wanted to pamper themselves.  

For me,
maybe those things were true, but it was basically a matter of being in the
store, seeing a product, thinking we might need it and saving myself another
trip to the store.   

So, they got me for
their higher prices…but next time, I might not be so easily persuaded to
purchase more than I planned!