Supermarket labeling, "10 for $10," makes you buy more

You know, of course, when the sign on the bread shelf at Winn-Dixie says "10 for $10," that's just wishful thinking on the store's part.

You can just buy one for $1, or three for $3 if that's all you really need.

But the pricing strategy, somehow, seems to work, according to a study in the Journal of Marketing Research from 1998 that's still touted online.

The research indicates that promotions using multi-unit pricing ("3 for $3"), purchase limits ("Limit 12/person") and suggestive selling ("Buy 10 for your freezer") all doubled what consumers purchased, according to a summary of the research by Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab.

"When most people buy products, they buy one or two at a time. They decide on a low number (like one or two), then buy more if the product's on sale," the summary said. "When promotions suggest high numbers ("Buy 12 so you don't run out!"), people shift their reference point to the higher number, and buy more."

Here's just a few examples that you'll find in local stores this week: butter 2 for $5, two-liter Pepsi bottles three for $4, Hamburger Helper two for $3, Starkist tuna 10 for $10, and that bread at Winn-Dixie.

More interesting data and helpful tips on the psychology of shopping can be found at the Cornell lab's Web site. Just click here.

Here are other highlights from our visits this week to price 30 items at five local supermarkets.

Target

In a scrimping mood after filing your taxes? Target is ready for you.

Store managers are highlighting everything you need to make bagged lunches for the week - right down to the paper sacks. If you like the basics, there are specials on peanut butter, strawberry preserves and whole wheat sandwich bread.

Also in the mix are granola bars, pretzels and Chex mix.

If you're one who prefers a hot lunch, Target has discounted just-add-water pasta dishes such as Kraft's Easy Mac and Bowl Apetit from Betty Crocker. For dessert, there are fruit cups, fruit roll-ups and Betty Crocker's Warm Delights microwaveable cakes.

And to carry it all, you can choose from time-tested brown paper bags or fancier red ones. Zip-loc bags and containers are also on sale.

Kevin Wiatrowski

Publix

Choosing the healthier option could save you some cash this week at Publix. Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup costs $1.67 a can, but choosing the on-sale low sodium option will save you 67 cents.

Other staples on sale this week at Publix are: a pound of Smithfield Bacon for $3, a 64-ounce carton of Florida Natural's orange juice for $3 and a 5-pound bag of potatoes for $2.49.

Michele Sager

Walmart

It's time to stock up on pasta at Wal-Mart.

A 1-pound box of Great Value store brand spaghetti is only 88 cents, down from the $1 it has cost since we started Market Basket last fall.

The more nutritious whole-wheat varieties are also only 88 cents, as are 12-ounce and 16-ounce boxes of elbow pasta, garden rotini, bowtie and other varieties.

The only pasta excluded from this bottom-of-the-barrel pricing are lasagna noodles and jumbo shells.

Janine Dorsey

Sweetbay

Sweetbay touts its "Sweet Deals" on purple stickers throughout the store, sometimes even when they really aren't any lower than usual.

But there's one this week that isn't just legitimate, it's a bulls eye: A 5-pound bag of Hannaford sugar, which has sold for $2.35 to $2.49 since we started Market Basket in the fall, is just $1.99.

Dennis Joyce

Winn-Dixie

You count on the prepackaged Winn-Dixie brand sliced ham to set you back $3.49 week after week, based on months of Market Basket surveys.

This week, for the same price, you can pick up a name brand: Good old Smithfield.

Dennis Joyce