Buy Me!

I put the last juice pouch in my daughter's lunch this morning. This really irritated me because it meant another trip to the supermarket. I'm generally a pretty organized person and I try to stay on top of what we have in the house and what we're running out of, but I'm not always successful. So after dropping my daughter off at school, I headed to the store.

If I have to go, I prefer to go to the supermarket first thing in the morning. At 8:05, the store is pretty empty and there are no lines at the checkout. I can get the things I need and get out before the piped in music gets to me.

I have heard that extensive research is done on the effect canned music has on shoppers. Could this possibly be true? Does anyone actually buy more food because of it? When I walked into the store this morning "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock was blaring. I had no urge to buy more than what I needed. I didn't buy any incense or peppermints. I didn't buy a strawberry alarm clock, either. There is a huge display of Easter items that I thought about looking at, but the music made me want to get out fast.

I hate the idea of being manipulated while I shop. Like most stores, mine carries rotisserie chickens in the deli area. You can smell them before you even walk in the store. I'm sure the purpose is not only to sell more chicken, but to appeal to your appetite while you shop. Hungry shoppers buy more food, don't they? I don't know if it's done anymore, but I know the cookie stores in the mall used to send their oven exhaust into the mall so the smell of fresh baked cookies would tempt you.

I'm not much of an impulse shopper, I stick to my list pretty well. The only time I am willingly taken in by such methods is when they offer samples. Sam's Club, especially, has some darn good samples. During the holidays they have so many that you could eat enough little portions to call it a meal. It's true that I have made purchases based on the samples I've had, but I'm okay with that. It doesn't seem any worse than test driving a car before you buy it.

So all of this has me wondering, could I manipulate those of you who read my blog? I can't send the smell of roasted chicken or fresh baked cookies over the internet, and virtual samples would be less than satisfying. What if I put "Incense and Peppermints" on my music player? Would you be more likely to try the recipes I post? Would "Love Will Keep Us Together" tempt you to make wax tarts, line drawers or try any of my other posted projects? Or would you be burning incense, sucking on peppermints and rekindling your relationship with your better half. Most likely, you'd just stop reading my blog!