I Am Not Smarter Than Good Marketing | brokeGIRLrich
I like to think I’m hip to marketing. I can avoid their traps and pitfalls.
I’m so much smarter than them, thanks to my hyper awareness of people trying to sell me junk I (mostly) don’t need and all the blog articles I read warning me about it.
Um. This is not always the case.
So I joined a new gym recently in a brand new shopping center about 10 minutes from my home.
As I exited the gym after my first day of swimming laps in forever I went next door and bought a new swimsuit, since mine really wasn’t the best for swimming laps.
And I was starving because hello, gym, right? So I grabbed a sandwich at Panera, which definitely has a healthy vibe to it.
After which I noticed the big, honking Whole Foods that will be opening on August 7th right next to the gym and thought about how awesome that will be, because I am lazy and really like Whole Foods food and it’s so healthy!
And then I thought – crap. This is the most dangerous place on earth.
Which was maybe a bit of hyperbole. A shark tank or a maximum security prison are maybe a little more dangerous than that shopping plaza.
But geez. Not to my wallet.
So, as I ate my half a sandwich and soup in Panera, I scoped out the scene and put my personal finance thinking cap back on and was freaking astounded by how well that shopping plaza had been online-health-pharm.com laid out.
I’m pretty sure it all started with the Whole Foods, since talk of that sucker getting built somewhere nearby has been a topic of conversation in my hometown for the last two years.
But assuming the Whole Foods is what kicked this shopping center off every other store in it is brilliant.
Who likes Whole Foods (let’s be super stereotypical here)?
- Healthy People
- Unhealthy People Trying to Fake It
- Unhealthy People Legit Trying to Be Healthier
- Middle/Upper Class Folks
- Stay at Home Middle/Upper Class Moms
What other stores are in this shopping plaza?
- LA Fitness
- Modell’s
- Noodles & Co. (something about the Asian-y-ness of noodles seems kind of healthy to me, even though they’re not – is it just me?)
- Carter’s
- Panera
- Torrid
- Five Below
- Home Goods
So are you shopping in Torrid and feeling kind of chubby today? Well go grab a healthy lunch at Whole Foods and now that you’re full and you can conquer the world, why not join a gym? And if you’re joining a gym, you’re going to need workout stuff, so good thing there’s a Modell’s there!
Hi there stay at home mom, did you just spend a ridiculous amount of money on healthy food for your family? Well right next door, we’ve conveniently got two shops that you can pop into to pick up clothes and toys your kid probably doesn’t really need. Then you can jaunt to the other side of Whole Foods for trinkets at Five Below – the middle class dollar store.
Don’t even get me started on Home Goods.
Sweet mother of pearl. The place is brilliant. And horrific.
I can’t believe it doesn’t have a Starbucks.
I’ve actually never even step foot in a whole foods and I don’t intend to. Everyone seems to love it once they do. I do love Panera though. I always order the macaroni and cheese which is probably one of the most fattening items on the menu, but so delicious.
Mrs. Budgets @MrandMrsBudgets recently posted…Ready…Set…Oh, Wait!
I don’t even like Panera! I think that’s what made my mental alarm bells go off a little – “what are you doing here? You don’t even really like it!”
That’s a smart take on Whole Foods, because it’s so much easier to just not get addicted to something than to have to give it up.
This may be one of my favorite posts of yours- hilarious and true.
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Thanks
Whole Foods isn’t worth it.
Oh yeah, it’s super over priced. But the perfect middle class trap.
Ha! It’s amazing when you pick up on all of the marketing that’s being used against you. Companies spend billions of dollars a year to figure out new and different ways for us to spend money and location proximity is definitely one of those. I noticed this the other day at the food store when I saw limes next to the Coronas in the beer case. I wasn’t particularly in the mood for Corona but realized how many people they probably get to buy Corona because now they don’t have to walk back to get the limes to accompany said Corona.
Shannon @ Financially Blonde recently posted…Music Mondays – Out of Touch
OMG I know this feeling. I get it every time I find myself in a TJ Maxx and I hear myself think, “Well, if it’s HERE then I must be able to save money on it.” Pamela Slim calls it a “brand ecosystem.” You nailed it. Right there in that shopping center. Love this post.
MJ recently posted…5 Reasons to Review Your Budget
I always think of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s as danger zones because I either waste a ton of time finding nothing or I find so much, it’s still not a budget friendly stop anymore.
Oh man, they did plan that out well! Shopping plazas like that are totally dangerous. For me, it’s always bad when there’s a book store close to a place with amazing milkshakes…
Alexandra @ Real Simple Finances recently posted…Financial Success Requires a Network
Hahaha, yeah, I would struggle with that too – bookstores are a horrible way to spend money, you can find almost everything at the library, but they’ve got such a great vibe to them! I still love them anyway.
ha ha too funny! We have a whole foods nearby with a lot of fancy stores in the same area…yes including a starbucks I once came from a yoga class and bought a starbucks and went into whole foods to pick up a few things. I felt like a huge cliche. 🙂 At least I wasn’t wear lululemon, which coincidentally, is also in that strip mall.
Tonya@Budget and the Beach recently posted…BATB TV: TimeCast Cable
Oh man, Lululemon totally missed the boat on this one. They would fit right in.
Funny – and so true! It really is amazing how everything you see is there for a reason. The science of shopping is real!
This is the exact reason my wife and I don’t shop for deals, bargain shop, use an abundance of coupons, shop for deals, etc. (Or at least 90% of the time) We make a list before any form of shopping, and if it’s on the list we buy it – even if it’s completely overpriced. We would be deluding ourselves if we thought we could beat the Shopping Scientists and Marketers.
Luke Fitzgerald @ FinanciallyFitz recently posted…Why Is Money so Hard to Talk About?
I don’t know, I think being contentious of it really does help a lot (although, as I pointed out, sometimes you still wind up sitting there eating Panera with a new bathing suit thinking WTF just happened?). I think if you make a list, it’s totally worth it to look around the internet for a few coupons or deals before heading out to buy something.
I considered getting my PhD in location economics which is pretty much all about these “positive externalities.” It’s positive for you to be able to spend all your money at once, right? But seriously, the interactions between brands, geography and consumers is both an incentive for brands to co-locate, but its also a self-reinforcing cycle. You might go for the gym, but someone else might come for the Noodles, but you both end up at Home Goods.
Oh- I also have to remind myself that noodles are NOT a healthy choice!
Haha, glad it’s not just me with the noodles. ;o)
I’m sure Starbucks is coming soon! They’re probably negotiating the liquor licence.
In stark contrast, my gym is in a strip mall next to Urgent Care (for when you hurt yourself at the gym), Taekwondo (so you can drop your kids somewhere while you workout) and a liquor store (to help ease the pain of working out).
Tre recently posted…Free CPE For CPAs
LOL – still not bad community planning ;o)
Hilarious. Yes the world is one GIANT marketing machine and from the moment we wake up. And now the retailers are colluding with each other and turning a simple trip to the gym into a giant marketing web. I am amazed at how much science goes into these things. I have never shopped at Whole Foods but I have heard a lot about it. People seem to feel strongly one way or the other. Good luck at the gym! Avert your eyes while you walk through the parking lot to avoid temptation.
May recently posted…How Meal Prepping Can Help Your Weekly Food Budget
Haha, yeah, I should avert my eyes. Instead I keep peering into the stores that aren’t open yet, watching them slowly fill up and get closer and closer to being an additional temptation.
It’s all part of a well researched masterplan – once they’ve got you in, they can pretty much give you every reason under the sun to stay! I’m sure it won’t be long before Starbucks follows, so if you hit the gym before work, you can at least grab a coffee as well.
Hayley @ Disease Called Debt recently posted…Financially Savvy Saturdays #100
So true. I honestly can’t believe they missed out – especially since there aren’t any in the area.
I love it! You are right about the layout. I think it’s best not to stop in a mall at all! Great article.
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Your right, but it’s the closest, cheapest gym in the area with a pool. The problem is that there are plenty of things in there that are actually an ok reason to be in the shopping center…. and then all that other junk on top too.
Malls are such dangerous places! Back in school when I briefly worked in retail, I fell victim to similar marketing ploys all the time. How many times did I “splurge” and buy Cinnabon because that’s all I could smell throughout my shift? Or grab some Tim Horton’s while waiting for the bus on my way home. By the time I got home, I had spent more than I had made!
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Oh my gosh, yes! I worked in a restaurant in a mall when I was in college in and you could eat the food there majorly discounted, but somehow I always wound up in the food court because I wanted to get the heck out of the restaurant on my breaks.
LOL! You cracked the code. I’ve never even thought about the marketing decsions behind how stores are grouped together for max spending impact. Now you’ll have been evaluating that at every turn. But that was pretty genius.
Toni @ Debt Free Divas recently posted…Financially Savvy Saturdays #100
Sounds like a financially dangerous place to work out! I didn’t think about this when I posted on how to save money on a gym membership, but what’s around your gym can definitely make it very expensive to work out there. Fortunately, the shopping center for my gym isn’t nearly as slick with marketing as yours! But at least you’re aware of it. I wonder how many people end up blowing their budget there without even realizing what’s happening.
Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…Make Your Next Job Interview A Big Success
I can’t even imagine. The place is a budgeters nightmare.
Wow, that is really well planned! I’m trying to think what’s near the suburban whole foods I know of… A gymboree play place, a pharmacy, a Starbucks (maybe yours is coming?) and a lunch place that markets itself as healthy but mostly sells bagels. So similar. I’ve never even noticed before! Brilliant post, Mel.
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