Stores moving shopping isles - can't find anything :-(

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A local supermarket has completely changed the layout of the isles from a grid to what can only be described as a maze. Do others hate that sort of thing?

I like to go into a store and go directly to what I want to buy, usually on the shortest route. Now I'm forced to go round lots of isles past things I'm not interested in to be able to get to the products I want. I find this very annoying. The logic of the store must be that the more things they force people to pass the more chance that they will buy something else too. However in my case the reverse is more likely. I gave up looking for what I wanted and left the store buying nothing. I won't shop there again.

Do other people hate it when isle layouts gets changed or they deliberately put things on different isles to make you look around the store for them?

yes,hate it,there is no need for it.
well ok,they do it so they can fit other stuff in,but why not move that stuff instead.
if am used to seeing a certain order and going a certain way in shops and they change where something is,am end up having meltdowns or at the very least will self injure,so prefer to go to the 'small' shops,not ones like asda/wallmart where they have more stuff than sense,but ones like small co ops as the one around here never changes the shelf order,its like a corner shop.

this also makes am think,why have supermarkets not started doing drive thru supermarkets yet because there's drive thru everything else,how great would that be for autists especially.

Yes, I don't like it.

Neither does the rest of the family.

It's confusing and inconvenient.
It's also overwhelming for lots of "normal" people too including the older folks who desperately try to keep up with all the layout iterations.

Surely it would be more efficient to follow a basic map plan for the locations of different products.

There's useful change that genuinely helps the ergonomics (that I approve of) and there's "change for change's sake" which confuses people and makes things less efficient.

Rearranging the aisles is sadly often "change for changes sake".
Maybe the store owners get bored using the same layout all the time?

Without doubt one of my pet hates.

It does have to do with the more things you pass the more likely you are to say "hey, Look at that." and grab whatever it is. It's the same reason that the cans of vegetables are not alphabetized.

I went to my pharmacy and they changed all the colors and where all the isles are, it feels like there is more shelf room now, I think they narrowed the walk way or something, but it's not too close and I'm still learning where things are. Makes more sense now they actually put all the food in one place now, but they changed the colors to this hideous clash of red, green and an almost navy flooring. It's eye jarring and makes me get out of there as fast as I can, but I'm stuck waiting 15-20 minutes for prescriptions.

Yep I don't like that. I don't like grocery stores at all, really. I find them boring and so I don't want to spend any more time there than I have to. The store management, of course, has exactly the opposite goal. They want to force me to spend as much time in their store as possible so that I will make a lot of "impulse" purchases while I run around trying to find the items I really came for.

This reminds me of my other grocery store pet peeve: I hate the way grocery stores arrange things in completely illogical ways. Example: A few months ago, I wanted to find some cereal that I am particularly fond of. So, naturally, I went to the cereal isle to look for it. I didn't see any of the cereal I wanted there. Disappointed, I continued my shopping. Much later, I found the cereal I wanted in its own separate display at the end of the "cleaning supplies" isle -- 5 or 6 isles away from the cereal isle.

I hate it too, but at least I go to the grocery store often enough to keep up. The bookstore is worse, because I only go in a few times a year (can't afford to buy books) and it seems like every single time I go in they've moved everything, including the map.

At least they don't move books around in the library very much.

That is a pet peeve of mine. They do this at the book store from time to time. I hurry in to get the book I want.. only to find romance where dean koontz was. >__<


Oh, and I dislike when resturaunts chnage thier menus (like Ruby tuesdays) as I'll find some dish I love and when I go back the next month it is gone.

Also, in most clerks' minds, it seems like the tuna belongs in the canned F & V section, and the beans belong in the canned meats section.

One store they changed once, so I thought I would continue to go there. Just as I get used to the layout, they change it. Meaning my planned 5-10 minutes turns into a half hour running around. I don't like spending more time than I had set aside for it. I never make impulse buys. If I can't find what I want, then I either walk out or look elsewhere to buy it, but I do prefer to buy the items I want in one location

I find that most annoying too I try to look for what I cant find and walk out if I cant find what I am looking for I think that this is most inconsiderate for aspies.

one of the reasons why I avoid supermarkets in general.

my local farmers market always looks the same, ever since the '80s there's always the same sellers there. I love it.

i find it really annoying when they do that.

they rearrange everything because they want people to walk around the whole store and try to get people to buy more crap

I couldn't have put it more succinctly myself.

That's exactly what's going on.
The stores want to extract as much money from each customer as is legally possible.
Rearranging the shelves, forcing hapless folks to navigate their way through the entire "maze", is one way of doing this.

Some stores actually employ psychologists to monitor shoppers' behaviours.
Some supermarket pyschologists dress to match the shoppers so that they can observe all that goes on in a ninja like, "chameleon" way then report back to the store owner.

There's a whole field called "Supermarket Psychology" devoted to the study of shopping habits.

Apparently, I've heard that when people first enter a store, their inclination is to veer off to the right. That's probably why most shelves by the entrance are placed towards the right hand side.

Also appealing smells, such as fresh baked bread, are deliberately wafted through the aisles via a vent system, to lure customers towards the bakery.

All subtle but very effective tactics.

An article on Supermarket psychology:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/colum ... 60407.html

I've gone into partial meltdown because of aisle changes. I become so agitated I keep repeating how much I don't like it. My partner has to keep a hand on me and keep saying "it's okay".

It's an ordeal until I figure it out and get used to it.

There are stores I don't go into unless it's my last resort.

I know why they do it...I just hate it.

This has always bothered me as long as I can remember. I have to start over from scratch. Looking for what I need again. I can always ask where something is.


I think they do that because they get new stuff and they have to make more room so it's easier to move things. Just like people move furniture in their home when they get a new piece of furniture to make room for it.