Tuesday 5/4

Poor Placement

I had a delayed reaction walking down the aisle at the grocery store the other day.  I glanced over at a Tyson promotional display and noticed a package of fully-cooked Hickory Smoked bacon.  Hmm... , I thought, whaddya know.  Bacon that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.  After about eight more steps I thought, Ew! Bacon that doesn’t need to be refrigerated!?  I immediately turned around and marched back to the display.  I picked one up and examined the bag.  I shook it like I was trying to figure out what was in a Christmas present.  The piggy strips jumbled around inside.  I probably looked like an idiot, but I was amazed. 

Now, I don’t know that I’ve ever purchased bacon to cook for myself so I admit my inexperience in the bacon realm.  Maybe this stuff has been around for a while.  (Seems kind of lazy, if you ask me.  But then again, bacon is a pain in the butt to cook and it takes forever.)  No sooner than I came to grips with the product in my hands, I realized exactly which aisle I had just marched back down in disbelief.  These two things were right next to each other:

Yep.  If I wanted to, I could buy fabric softener, laundry detergent, toilet paper, a mop, and bacon all in the same aisle.  I’m no expert, but wouldn’t bacon sell better in the bacon aisle, or at least next to the cheese, refrigerated bagels, sausages, etc.?  (It’s true, I’m not an expert, but I do have a degree in marketing and I seem to recall a chapter in some book about placing similar products next to each other in the store.)  I mean, if I smell Spring Breeze and Lavender and Fresh Linen aromas, I don’t get a hankerin’ for some bacon. 

A while ago (April 7, if you need to go back and read), I wrote an article about how there’s always someone who has to decide where things go in a store.  They don’t just magically appear there.  Well, that someone needs to wake up and smell the bacon!

By: S. Cole Garrett