Once upon a time all retailers had to do was pile it high and sell it cheap. If they could convince us that we were getting a good deal, we bought. And bought. Retailing has come a long way since.

Now grocery stores know that having the aroma of freshly-baked bread wafting through the store will make shoppers feel hungry; you know what happens when you go grocery shopping and you’re hungry? Some retailing experts even put the smell of coconut into travel agencies since many suntan lotions smell of coconut and the scent can remind people of past holidays.

Since we’re a lazy bunch of fools, we often default to buying whatever is at eye level on a shelf. Retailers respond by stacking products with the highest margins – the difference between their cost and their selling price – within our line of sight.  Or they sell those spots to manufacturers, charging them “slotting fees” for the privilege of having the prime spot on the self.

Do you know that retailers can even predict (and set up their stores to take advantage of) the direction you’re likely to head in when you walk into a store? Think about your favorite store. Close your eyes. You’re walking into the store. What direction do you go in: left, straight ahead, or right?

The more time you spend in a store, the more likely you are to buy. That’s why grocery stores have gotten into the business of selling merchandise… stuff you’ll enjoy browsing. They’ve set up magazine and book racks because these are “rest spots” that let shoppers slow down and recoup. They know the longer they keep you in the store, the more profitable you’ll be. And they put all they stuff they know you’ve come to buy – butter, milk, eggs – right at the back of the store so you’ll have to walk buy all the other stuff to get there.

Speaking of browsing, if you incorporate sampling into your walk-around, you’re done for. As you’re wheeling around the store, avoid sampling. It’s a ruse designed to get you to spend more money. Sampling extends to picking stuff up and handling it. The more we touch, smell, examine a product, the more likely we are to buy it, which is one very good reason why we should NOT try on clothes, shoes, handbags we don’t intend to purchase.

And then there’s the “sale” – the bargain that makes us pick up a couple or six of something the retailer knows we like to buy. Having just saved $12 on tomato sauce (we are such good shoppers!), we can justify dropping $6 on that decadent cheesecake.

The inoculation that works best against the retailing ploys designed to separate us from our money is The Shopping List. Shopping with cash helps too. When we use a credit card, we are much less likely to overspend because it’s easy to forget that we’re using real money. Credit cards let us feel all the pleasure of buying something new without experiencing any of the pain of having just spent the rent money.

Of course, the single best way to avoid spending money is… (drumroll please…) don’t go shopping. How many days can you go without stepping into a store to get the high of having spent money? Do you have a buy-nothing day? 

Oh, by the way, when you went into that store, I bet you turned right!

Your turn: Let’s hear your story of how you ended up buying something you never intented to buy.