Being a smart shopper is important. Whether you know it or not, stores are constantly trying to get you to buy products that you don’t need, or more products than you really want. Here are some tricks they use: 

･Placing the most expensive items at eye level on the shelves. Often, the best bargains are on the bottom shelves, where nobody looks. Instead, your eye is naturally drawn to the most expensive items. 

･Crafty pricing. Stores use prices like “$199” or “$399” because your brain processes “$399” as “$300,” not “$400.” 

･Free samples. Eating a small sample of something tasty makes you want to eat more of that item. Hopefully this will lead you to buy something you didn’t know you wanted until you ate the sample. 

･Buy one, get one free deals. Studies show that these seeming “bargains” induce people into spending 150 percent more than they usually do. 

･Store “discount” cards. People who use these cards spend 42 percent more on groceries than people who don’t—usually because the “bargains” for card members induce them to buy products they don’t need. 

･Specialized receipts. If you belong to a store’s points program, you may get a receipt that features a coupon for an item that store knows you buy a lot of. The idea is to give you a small discount so that you’ll come back soon and spend more money than you would have otherwise. 

These are just a few of the many age-old tricks used by many stores to persuade you to part with your cash. Have a look for them next time you are shopping. If you are strict and only buy what you need, then you will save money.