Beware! Retailers are tricking you into spending more money

Have you ever wandered into a shop with a list of a few things , only to come out with ____________________ as much stuff ? There is a ____________________ for this . ____________________ have been using different techniques to increase their sales for years . And they ____________________ !

Smell is a common ____________________ used to get shoppers spending . Most supermarkets now ____________________ customers with the smell of fresh bread or roast chicken to ____________________ you hungry , in which case you are much more ____________________ to buy food . ____________________ if you're starving ! Many restaurants and fast food outlets use the same trick and send kitchen smells onto the street to ____________________ more customers .

The way that products are ____________________ also plays a very important role . More popular items are usually in the middle of ____________________ so that you have to walk further , ____________________ more products to reach them . Products that shops want to ____________________ are placed at eye ____________________ or at the end of aisles to get maximum ____________________ . Many companies pay shops to place their products there .

Have you ever ____________________ that certain shelves in shops look untidy , as if customers have been moving everything around ? This is not by ____________________ . You may think that people would be put off by this but retailers often make areas ____________________ untidy , so that customers believe they are looking at 'reduced - price' products or a very ____________________ promotion .

Even the way ____________________ are designed can make you spend more . In many supermarkets , the tiles in aisles with expensive items are smaller so that it sounds as if your ____________________ is moving faster , which makes you slow down and ____________________ more time in that area . Many shops use carpets to slow your ____________________ . Other shops ____________________ windows , so that you have less connection with the outside world and are more likely to spend more time shopping . If you can't see that it is getting dark outside , you are more likely to ____________________ your time inside the shop .

Retailers would quickly go ____________________ of business if we walked straight in , bought what we needed , then walked straight out again . This is why in food shops , major items such as bread and milk are placed at the ____________________ . Similarly , in clothes shops , fitting rooms and cash desks are usually far from the ____________________ . Shopping malls usually have ____________________ floor plans so that it's easy to get in , but ____________________ to find your way out . Also separating escalators . between floors means you have to walk around the mall to go up to another ____________________ . The more time you spend inside , the more money you are ____________________ to spend .

Retailers are playing with your ____________________ . Don't let them get ____________________ with it !