"How Whole Foods 'Primes' You to Shop"

[krispos42]

How Whole Foods "Primes" You to Shop

by Martin Lindstrom
Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Have you ever been primed? I mean has anyone ever deliberately influenced your subconscious mind and altered your perception of reality without your knowing it? Whole Foods Market, and others, are doing it to you right now.

<snip>

Let's take for example Whole Foods, a market chain priding itself on selling the highest quality, freshest, and most environmentally sound produce. No one could argue that their selection of organic food and take-away meals are whole, hearty, and totally delicious. But how much thought have you given to how they're actually presenting their wares? Have you considered the carefully planning that's goes into every detail that meets the eye?

<snip>

Flowers, as everyone knows, are among the freshest, most perishable objects on earth. Which is why fresh flowers are placed right up front — to "prime" us to think of freshness the moment we enter the store. Consider the opposite — what if we entered the store and were greeted with stacks of canned tuna and plastic flowers? Having been primed at the outset, we continue to carry that association, albeit subconsciously, with us as we shop.

The prices for the flowers, as for all the fresh fruits and vegetables, are scrawled in chalk on fragments of black slate — a tradition of outdoor European marketplaces. It's as if the farmer pulled up in front of Whole Foods just this morning, unloaded his produce, then hopped back in his flatbed truck to drive back upstate to his country farm. The dashed-off scrawl also suggests the price changes daily, just as it might at a roadside farm stand or local market. But in fact, most of the produce was flown in days ago, its price set at the Whole Foods corporate headquarters in Texas. Not only do the prices stay fixed, but what might look like chalk on the board is actually indelible; the signs have been mass-produced in a factory.

<more>

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113511/how-whole-foods-primes-you-shop-fastco

And these same people are selling candidates and corporatist positions.

[sharp_stick]

1. That's not just Whole Foods

virtually every store you enter, especially chains, have been completely modeled on priming you from the minute you walk through the doors until the minute you walk out the door at the end.

[krispos42]

3. Yeah, but WF gets bashed on here on a regular basis

So I thought it might be more interesting to DUers than a more generic article about the issue.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. I maintain the pressure's on when you sample one of their cooked goodies.

A bite of a gourmet bacon quiche, a spicy sausage, turkeyburger, etc. hot of the electric frying pan display, coupled with a coupon.

[hlthe2b]

4. Unless they hide all the prices--this isn't likely to work...

at least with me... I read labels, I compare prices, and I shop for what I need--not just for what appeals. I think more and more are like me.

[krispos42]

14. It's nice to have it spelled out.

I know DUers tend to be pretty bright folks, so this I thought was something that could provide specific examples of attitude adjustment. For example, in a political argument with Freepers.

It's easy to say "well, they have effective marketing", but if you can't point out a couple of specifics, you just sound like you're repeating a left-wing talking point of faith.

[my2sense]

5. I can't afford WF

Even when I splurged a few times and purchased plumcots there (thinking they would be FRESH). They were mush inside - a sign that they'd been frozen and a second time when they were not ripe. I was so disappointed as I've always heard they had the BEST produce.

edited to clarify.

[MineralMan]

6. It's called Merchandising.

Everyone does it. Every business decides how to do it. The ones who get it right do well. The ones who get it wrong end up having "Going out of Business" sales.

:shrug:

[Jim Warren]

7. What's the problem?

Keep your own counsel and be mindful. We are not all brain dead consumerist zombies. I shop WFs for a just a few dedicated items, mainly coffee and bread: the store near me has a wonderful and reasonably priced, in-store bakery.

[Lasher]

8. Hey, Kroger does that same thing.

First the fresh produce section, then you walk by the fresh flowers. Walmart's produce section is first too, but they don't have a floral section.

[ironrooster]

9. you know, with all due respect - i hate ops like this -

as mineralman says EVERY retailer or grocer does this. we can think for ourselves. it's not like their sticking their
hands down our trousers to get at the money. how clueless and naive are people that this is even newsworthy?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

11. and those uninformed people out there can just stay uninformed too!

:shakeshead:

[fishwax]

12. yes, every retailer does it -- that's one of the main points of the article

If (as the author of the article believes) Whole Foods happens to be particularly good at it, then their methods are worth examining.

[Raine]

10. EVERY business uses enticements to get business

this doesn't make Whole Foods any worse than any other place that wants our money. :shrug:

[shireen]

13. what a BS article!

He just figured it out?
It's called marketing.

It's the supermarkets that DON'T do it that are the idiots.

And frankly, it creates a pleasing environment for shopping. I like the ambiance. I like reading the labels, talking to staff who always go out of their way to help customers. In contrast, i can't wait to get out of Giant Grocery and even the high-end Eddies grocery store in my neighborhood.

I can only speak from experience at my Whole Foods at Mt. Washington, Maryland. Their produce department is excellent, superior to other local grocery stores and even that of high-end grocery stores in the area. While i'm acutely aware of their marketing strategies, I also recognize good products (albeit more expensive) when i see it.

[Lance_Boyle]

15. Whatever Whole Foods has invested in this strategy is wasted money.

Once you cross the threshold and the patchouli stench from the fucking hippie/yuppy/hipster douchebags that shop there hits the nostrils, the only important thing is getting out as soon as possible.