I went into Giant the other day because I needed salad dressing. I knew exactly which one I wanted and exactly where it was supposed to be, so this should have been a quick trip.
Except, my salad dressing wasn’t there.
I went up and down the aisle a couple times thinking maybe I somehow missed it, but nope. They moved it. After standing there looking like a freaking idiot for a few minutes, I finally asked an employee where it went. I know some people would rather wander around the store for half an hour than ask an employee for help, but I’m not that stubborn.
The employee pointed me toward another aisle and, lo and behold, there it was, in its brand new home halfway on the other side of the store.
Grocery stores do this all the time and it drives me nuts. As soon as I get used to where everything is, they start moving stuff around again. The salad dressing moves, the bread moves, the crackers move. And suddenly I don’t know where the stuff I buy every week even is anymore.
Why?
I understand that sometimes stores have to change things around. Maybe they get new shelves, add products, remove products, or need more room for something. That’s fine, but it feels like some stores just rearrange things because it’s been a few months and everything has been in the same place for too long.
There’s something nice about knowing your grocery store. You go in, grab your cart, and you already know what direction you need to go. I don’t need to make a shopping list in aisle order, but after shopping at the same place enough times you naturally remember where stuff is. It makes the whole trip faster and easier.
But then one day you walk in and half the store is different. Now instead of just getting what I need, I’m stopping every few aisles trying to figure out where something went. Sometimes the signs above the aisles haven’t even caught up yet, which makes it even more annoying. You think you’re in the right place because the sign says you are, but whatever you’re looking for actually got moved somewhere else.
I’ve heard the reason stores do this is because they want people to walk past more products. If you have to search for something then maybe you’ll see some chips or cookies or some random thing you didn’t plan on buying and throw it in the cart. I’m sure somebody somewhere has numbers showing this works.
I don’t really give a shit why they do it. Just put my dressing back where it was!
Grocery shopping already takes long enough without turning it into a guessing game. There’s always somebody blocking an aisle with their cart or somebody standing directly in front of the thing you need, or a checkout line that takes forever. I don’t need to spend extra time looking for something because Giant randomly decided the salad dressing would sell a little bit more three aisles away.
Eventually I’ll get used to the new layout. I’ll remember where the dressing is again, figure out where they put everything else, and stop thinking about it. Then five months from now they’ll probably move it all again.
