Safeway Persuasion and Consumption

Safeway

This assignment is actually the type of thing I think about every time I go into Safeway. If you go into the Safeway on 14^th and John the entrance to the store leads you through the floral department. I know that whenever I walk into the store I notice the appealing smell of the flowers and the sight of them also leads me to think about my family. When I think of my family I think about how nice it would be to buy my mom or Grandma some flowers. Having this at the front of the store so that no one can get past without seeing them at that entrance I think brings a nice beginning to the shoppers experience. For me as soon as I enter I immediately smile, and even stop and smell sometimes, at the beautiful flowers.

As I’m shopping at Safeway I also notice the price tags on the items in the store. The original price tags are red and have black writing on them, making them not as desirable to look at compared to the bright yellow tags they put on items for the Safeway Club Members price. I also think that the original price tags are hard to read sometimes, but the sale prices are big and bright so that customers can’t miss them. Everyone loves a sale, so when these bright tags stick out and the customer can see the savings compared to the other prices it’s easy for them to see the saving and be persuaded that it’s that much better of a savings.

The items that are located around the check stand are also interesting to consider. It usually consists of the small items that are easy to grab. There’s gum, candy, magazines, and movies. If you’re in to Hollywood gossip it’s hard not to grab a magazine while you’re standing in line and look at it while you’re waiting. The gum and candy is always a reminder of things that I want and the chocolate that would taste so good after eating the other food that I bought. The most interesting thing I think is the movies. I myself never even really look at them because I would never think or really want to buy a movie from Safeway. My roommate on the other hand always stops and looks at the movies. So even though they don’t appeal to me they appeal to my roommate, and that’s what they’re going for. Even if it only appeals to some it’s still an affective item to sell. I think this aspect also points to the fact that Safeway can be almost like a one stop shopping place. When you walk through the aisles or are about to check out, there’s always something else you see that you think you need to have.

Safeway also includes my favorite coffee shop Starbucks. When I enter I catch a glimpse of the Starbucks and then when I’m done checking out I walk past it on the way out of the store. Each time I pass it I am always tempted to go buy a coffee, but am usually able to restrain myself. Having the Starbucks coffee itself brings in a group of people that may only be there for the coffee but then end up shopping at Safeway. So it also appeals to certain customers and draws them in to spend more money at Safeway.

The last thing I noticed before I left was the add for donating to breast cancer research. It asked me on the screen when I used my card and the checker always asks me also, even if I already checked no on the screen.

These are the main advertisements I see when I go to Safeway, and each of them act in different ways to draw in customers and create a vision of what Safeway is and what it has to offer. I know that a lot of there messages work on me, but I am proud to say that I am able to also identify those messages and restrain myself from some of them.