Tag Archives: product testing

Storewide Sensory Overload!

"Don't worry, dear. According to the article, Red means savings!"
“Don’t worry, dear. According to the article, Red means savings!”

Merchandising or manipulation? It’s probably a bit of both. We’re talking about the ways retailers place items on the shelves as well as the ways they modify the store’s lighting, music and even smells. This is all in an attempt to alter your buying behavior, usually meaning making you spend more money! And if you’re trying to cut back – and who isn’t? – it may be helpful to learn some of their tricks.

Here are some of the retailers’ Sensory Weapons:

Color: Colors have different associations and those things tend to get people going. So, for example, red is almost always the color associated with sales because it inspires people to take action and it’s a stimulating sort of color. Lifehacker

Touch: We are more likely to buy something if we touch it. And, oddly, if the display is too neat or fancy, we shy away. It reminds me of the big healthcare tub display at the checkout of my local Walmart – a big tub with a huge variety of 88-cent aspirin, nasal spray and bandages literally dumped in. It’s a glorious mess, (below) and I can’t keep my hands out of it!

Who am I to resist?
Who am I to resist?

Music: It depends on what the retailer wants you to do. Sometimes they want you to move through a place quickly (like a fast food restaurant), while other times they want you to linger. Lifehacker

Layout: It could be the grocery store that moves everything every six months to make you discover new items to buy. Or a really specific example such as Ikea – which has a definite In and Out door, and a specific path we must take to get from one to the other.

Smell: yes, even smell. Smell has a strong tie to memory (Personal smell note: Fresh cut grass = first day of kindergarten.) If the retailer can connect with a memory, it’s a sale!

I guess you could make a counter argument… that all of this sensory experience is part of the fun of shopping. (I’m told some people enjoy shopping, anyway.) What do YOU think? And check out the original article!

Death of the Family Portrait

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so METAL!
so METAL!

“Treasured” memories like the above will soon be a thing of the past. Out of the blue, the company (CPI) that runs thousands of portrait studios inside big retail stores such as Sears and WalMart is closing its doors.

In fact, go to Searsportrait.com, and this is ALL you see:

After many years of providing family portrait photography, we are sad to announce our Sears Portrait Studios are now closed. We appreciate your patronage and allowing us to capture your precious memories. If you currently have an album or have had a recent portrait session, you can order products at searsphotos.com thru April 18, 2013. If you have had a recent session, your portraits may be available at your local studio.

Now, before you blast Sears or Walmart, remember that CPI, in business for 60 years, is just a vendor for the retailers. They are deeply in debt, and their time has come.  CPI says that much of the blame goes to the proliferation of camera phones.

Their employees are shocked, to say the least, and more than a little worried that CPI might not make good on their current orders. Some are taking matters into their own hands. One employee “hastily burned as many undelivered portrait packages as she could onto compact discs on Thursday. By Friday, she tried to spread the word to those customers that she’d be at a nearby pet store’s parking lot Saturday with those CDs.”

So, if you have a pending portrait order with a local CPI, you might want to pick up the phone. To CALL them, not to take pictures!

So, what do you think? Will you miss the old portrait studio? Hey, I never used one, but it is kind of sad to lose a minor American tradition such as this.

On a brighter note, here are some bad family portraits from around the web!  Awkward Family Photos, More Awkward Family Photos

Acts of Random Suspended Kindness

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coffee2I think people want to do good. They mean well. As the Wizard of Oz said there at the end, “Back home we call these people well-meaning do-gooders!” or something.

But this one has me skeptical. You be the judge…

There is a movement afoot (translation: a Facebook page) to “Pay it Forward” at your local coffee shop. It goes like this…

When you order your morning (coffee), you also order additional items, but ask for them to be “suspended.” When a person who can’t afford their own beverage comes in, they can ask for a “suspended” coffee or food, and receive one for free. The Consumerist

Poverty solved! I am AWESOME! (Sorry, I said I would let YOU judge.)

Now, with a headline like “Why Ordering ‘Suspended’ Coffees For The Needy Is Stupid And Inefficient,” it’s as if The Consumerist is giving us a vague hint as to its opinion of this practice. You can read their criticisms in the original article. Meanwhile, Starbucks Melody, an “unofficial blog of the Starbucks brand,” has some suggestions to help people more efficiently.

But what do YOU think? Is this an efficient way to help people? Is a little kindness better than nothing? Is this just an example of (well-meaning) people finding the easiest, cleanest way to feel like they are helping? Have you done it? Would you? Let us know!

Cheap, Frugal or Both?

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Get it?
Get it?

It’s kind of a slow consumer news day, other than the persistent economic gloom. So I thought we would surf the web for money saving ideas! See if any of these make sense for you and your family. Follow the links to savings! or something…

As a counterpoint: 5 Household Items Worth the Splurge

Also, a question: has the downturn “educated” us to the point that we no longer need coupons?Read: Coupon clipping declines as shoppers get savvier

What do you think? Any good tips here? Do you have any to share from your personal experience? Let us know!

The Death of the Price Tag?

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price-tag

They say the price tag is dead.

Price tags have become an endangered species in the 21st century American economy. Can you say how much you spent on your cellphone bill last month? Or pay television? I’m sure you can’t say how much you paid in fees on your investments. NBC Redtape Blog

The thing is, you see price tags everywhere. What they really mean, I believe, is that the stated price has no MEANING anymore. Car loans, mortgages, cable TV offers, data plans, etc. Sometimes, spotting the offenders is easy. You see “Just $99 a month!” followed by an asterisk, and 500 words in tiny print. You know something’s up, even if you have no idea what it is.

What sorts of things are lying in wait behind that (*) ? According to Yahoo Finance:

  • Free-to-Paid: Free trials that become paid after a length of time
  • Unknown Subscriptions: Watch for boxes that are already checked, forcing you to UNCHECK to avoid extra charges!
  • Unwanted Auto Renewals: Unless you state otherwise, you will be automatically billed at renewal time.
  • Zombie Subscriptions: You cancel and the charges stop. You stop paying attention, and the charges start again.
  • Cost Creep: “Prices subject to change without notice.” Grr!

So, what’s the real damage?

This (confusion) hurts consumers, but it hurts industry too — with clear pricing, the best companies with the best products and the best value are rewarded over time. Without clear prices, companies that create the most confusion win, and honest companies slowly fade away. NBC Redtape Blog

What do you think? Have you noticed the death of the price tag? Are you confused and distrusting? What’s the answer? Read the original pieces, and let us know!

Kiss Me, I’m Irish

This-cat-like-Guinness-too-228x300

St. Patrick’s Day by the Numbers!

  • Nearly 35 million Americans claim some Irish heritage. That’s seven times the population of Ireland, around 4.58 million.
  • Americans, Irish- and otherwise, will spend around $4.5 billion for various St Patrick’s day food, and festivities, at around $35 per person. Where does it all go?
  • In the all-important food and beverage category, St. Pat’s celebrants will buy 26 billion pounds of corned beef and over 2 billion pounds of cabbage. Then, they will combine those, boil them to death and EAT them!
  • Meanwhile, they will spend $435 million on beer alone, not all of it green.

Other popular expenditures?

  • Irish-Americans will spend $24 million on lime-green dyed potted  mums for Ma and Gran.
  • We will send 7 million St. Patrick’s Day greeting cards, presumably with leprechauns on the front.
  • And we will spend around a billion dollars on trips to Ireland.

Sounds like a blast. The good news is that you don’t have to be Irish, at least according to the stats. While Irish-Americans make up about 11% of the population, fully half of all Americans say that they will be partaking in the St. Pat’s festivities. So tilt a pint of the green stuff, but please do it responsibly! Thanks, and have a great St. Pat’s weekend!

Cool links: Here, here, and a really fun graphic here.

Grumpy Consumer Top 10 List!

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What’s your favorite scam? Mine has to be the infomercials where, if you call now, they will double your order…. “You just pay separate shipping and handling!” Which suggests to me that THAT’S where they are making their money. I have also heard stories of people whose orders were doubled without their permission – as well as the shipping and handling. The remedy, when the company owns up to it, is to return the product for the full refund…but you still pay the S & H! Grrr.

Anyway, they have just published a list of top consumers scams of 2012. The list is from Missouri, but I bet it’s pretty typical. Take a look, listed in order of obnoxiousness!

  1. NO-CALL COMPLAINTS (39,990 complaints)
  2. DEBT COLLECTORS (1,769)
  3. MORTGAGE/FORECLOSURE/LOAN MODIFICATIONS (1,648)
  4. MAIL AND PHONE SOLICITATIONS (1,432)
  5. TELPHONE CRAMMING and BILLING (1,165)
  6. CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD (1,165)
  7. HOME REPAIR AND REMODELING (928)
  8. PUBLICATIONS AND MAGAZINE SALES (823)
  9. CABLE/SATELLITE SERVICES (670)
  10. AUTOMOBILE REPAIR (641)

Interesting that Do Not Calls are by far the biggest complaint, when that is the area the government has been attacking the hardest for years. Again, technology has made it easier to get around the laws.

The article has several tips and tricks and numbers/websites to call to get help. So check it out!

So, again, what’s your favorite scam-ola? Let us know!

Fighting Food Waste

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300px-rotting_fruit
Appetizing!

I usually avoid reading articles about food waste, as they are typically written to make Americans feel bad about the rich bounty of our lives. This one, however, puts it in dollars and cents – you PAID for that food! Why throw it away?

First, the depressing statistics:

  • About 40 percent of all food in the U.S. goes to waste.
  • The average American wastes about $28 to $43 in food each month, roughly 20 pounds of food.
  • Broken down, about 17 percent of dairy, 20 percent of vegetables, 15 percent of fruit, 18 percent of the grains, 25 percent of seafood, and 33 percent of the meat you buy goes to waste. Money Talks News

How to avoid throwing food (and money) away? There are several tips and tricks you can use – some a little nuttier than others.  The full list is at the original article, but here are some highlights.

1.     Store onions in pantyhose. (I assume you shouldn’t be wearing them at the time.)

2.     Add rice to your seasonings. (Absorbs moisture, and gives your spices that extra ricey flavor!)

3.     Invest in airtight plastic containers. (Keeps crackers, cereal, etc. fresh for two extra weeks!)

4.     Store bread in the fridge. (I don’t buy enough bread to know if this works or not, but my bagels last up to a month!)

5.     Prep salads in mason jars. (Apparently, you can keep salads for 10 days this way!)

6.     Give fruits and vegetables a vinegar bath. (Removes dirt, wax, and bacteria for longer shelf life.)

7.     Keep an eye out for bad apples. (Despite what the Osmond Brothers say, one bad apple CAN spoil the whole bunch, girl.)

8.     Make frozen buttermilk or cream cubes. (Yes, in an ice tray. Yes, people will think you are crazy.)

At our house, it’s usually bananas and salad fixin’s that seem to get wasted most. How about you? Are these tips useful? Bizarre? Usefully bizarre? Read the original article, and let us know!

So… How Was Your Cruise?

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Tonight's special at the Carnival buffet
Tonight’s special at the Carnival buffet
(credit: anhourinthekitchen.com)

Ah, the Carnival Triumph cruise debacle! Jon Stewart dubbed it the Ship of Stools (it’s funny ‘cause it’s GROSS.) CNN treated it like the worst humanitarian disaster since Hurricane Katrina. At least one bystander (me) wondered how an onion sandwich would taste. And, on cue, the first lawsuits are rolling in.

But, do the passengers have a case? Well, according to the fine print we ALWAYS take time to read, it would seem not…

Carnival shall not be liable to the passenger for damages for emotional distress, mental suffering/anguish or psychological injury of any kind under any circumstances, except when such damages were caused by the negligence of Carnival and resulted from the same passenger sustaining actual physical injury, or having been at risk of actual physical injury, or when such damages are held to be intentionally inflicted by Carnival.  Marketplace.org

To make amends, Carnival is offering up a buffet of refunds, consolation money, free cruises and onion sandwiches. Personally, I can’t imagine signing up for another cruise after this experience, can you?

So, what do you think? Is Carnival’s gesture enough? What more could they do? Are we too lawsuit-happy? What would you do in this situation? And, most importantly, have you ever had an onion sandwich? Let us know!

Last Minute Valentine Gift Ideas!

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white-elephant-gift-exchangeWhen it comes to gift-giving they always say, “It’s the thought that counts.” On Valentine’s Day, and other holidays both important and made-up, I like to amend this statement by saying this is only true when actual THOUGHT went into the gift.

This week, in roadside vacant lots across the land, suckers gentlemen may purchase a wide assortment of desperate romantic gifts. The one I am seeing most often is a shrink- wrapped teddy bear & candy basket arrangement, ranging in size from “Aw cute!” to “Dude, can I borrow your truck?”

So, as a public service for the romantically challenged, I have combed one or two websites the entire internet for fun Valentine’s gift ideas!

From MoneyTalksNews.com:

  • Tame the clutter: Be a hero for cleaning out the garage, like you said you would last September!
  • Foot rub: Remember that old man on Funny Videos who used the disc grinder on his wife’s crusty heels? That’s love y’all!

From the BBC:

  • Choco-face! How about 3-D scanned, laser-etched sculpture of your face in chocolate? Totally tasty and not creepy at all!

From the New York Post:

  • Frisky Fortunes! Concerned parents cause makers to pull sexy/romantic fortune cookie messages. Better grab the romance before they’re gone!

Fun ideas? Unique? Totally lame? Say what you will, these are all better, more romantic ideas than this one: Detroit lawyer holds Valentine’s contest – first prize a free divorce! Reached for comment, the attorney said: “It’s the thought that counts!”

Anyway, best of luck, lovebirds. If, SOMEHOW, this article didn’t give you any good ideas, check these (for real) gift guides FOR HER, and FOR HIM.

And Happy Valentine’s day!