--- title: Supermarket Science description: Given tiny sales margins, product positioning is crucial. Here's how it's done canonical: https://time.com/archive/6681131/supermarket-science/ author: Jeremy Caplan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2007-05-24T04:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-27T09:59:58.003Z article:section: Health og:title: Supermarket Science og:description: Given tiny sales margins, product positioning is crucial. Here's how it's done og:url: https://time.com/archive/6681131/supermarket-science/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Supermarket Science twitter:description: Given tiny sales margins, product positioning is crucial. Here's how it's done twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) # Supermarket Science by [Jeremy Caplan](https://time.com/author/jeremy-caplan/) May 24, 2007 4:00 AM UTC by [Jeremy Caplan](https://time.com/author/jeremy-caplan/) May 24, 2007 4:00 AM UTC CHEESE Shelving cheese near wine can nudge shoppers into impulsively buying a bottle of Bordeaux. And posting an attractive salesperson with a small selection of samples–five is often more effective than 50–seems to boost buying. SILVER POLISH Some products have a lucrative rub-off effect. A supermarket-strategy firm found that shoppers who buy silver polish tend to spend more than $200 a trip. So even though it’s a low-turnover product, shelving experts keep it around. KETCHUP To capitalize on customers loyal to certain brands, supermarkets make sure that popular labels, such as Heinz ketchup and Cheerios, are easy to spot and positioned near profitable store brands. DIAPERS They’re not shelved next to condoms because diapers don’t scream “sexy.” But should they be positioned alongside baby food? Given that many consumers spend just seven seconds at a particular display before selecting a product, some store planners want to encourage shoppers to grab related baby products by stocking them all in the same area. Research also suggests that diapers in opaque packaging may evoke less disgust than those in a see-through bag. KITTY LITTER Even before the recent pet-food scare, supermarkets had to be careful about where to put kitty litter, since its use carries a definite ick factor. Attractive, bright packaging may help, but positioning in the pet section remains a challenge. Supermarket Science ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6681131/supermarket-science/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6681131/supermarket-science/"},"headline":"Supermarket Science","datePublished":"2007-05-24T04:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-27T09:59:58.003Z","description":"Given tiny sales margins, product positioning is crucial. Here's how it's done","url":"https://time.com/archive/6681131/supermarket-science/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeremy Caplan","url":"https://time.com/author/jeremy-caplan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6681131/supermarket-science/","name":"Supermarket Science"}}]}] ```