This Is How Trader Joe's Influences You To Buy More Than What's On Your Shopping List

Stepping into a Trader Joe's is always a risky undertaking. Sure, you have your list detailing everything you need for dinner tonight in a clear, bulleted list. However, you know that's going out the window the second you hit the snack aisle. Experience shows that there is just no way to make it through a full shop at Trader Joe's without picking up a few extra goodies. But how exactly does this grocery chain so effectively encourage us to impulse buy? Well, the phenomenon can likely be put down to a combination of limited selection, fun atmosphere, and short-lived and seasonal products.

There is a concept called the paradox of choice, and there is perhaps nowhere that it is more apparent in our day-to-day lives than the grocery store. The paradox of choice is that while we think that having more options is a good thing, it is actually exhausting to us. Too many choices leads us to decision fatigue, paralysis, and buyer's remorse. Now, remorse might be a bit of a heavy word to describe your salsa purchase, but the decision paralysis and fatigue are certainly real; and a wall of 60 jars of salsa of varying brands, colors, spice levels, and eye-catching ingredients is a sure way to trigger it.

One of Trader Joe's greatest qualities is the absence of this plethora of options. We're not talking about the far other end of the spectrum, in which the shelves have just one jar that's simply labeled "salsa." No, Trader Joe's finds the perfect middle ground, giving us just enough choices to satisfy our desires without the options becoming overwhelming.

There is clearly more to Trader Joe's technique than just the approachable inventory, though. Research shows that customers are more likely to buy products when they have limited options, but that doesn't quite explain the impulsive nature of these purchases. You see a similar limited-choice inventory in Aldi stores – Aldi and Trader Joe's are owned by the same company, after all — and visits to Aldi are not without their impulse purchases. But the risk is not quite on the same level as it is in a Trader Joe's store. This takes us to the next item on the list: the atmosphere of the store.

Trader Joe's is, in some ways, a grocery store for people who don't really like to cook. It is one of the annoying things about shopping at Trader Joe's for avid culinarians, but there is a demographic for whom it is perfect. The simplicity of the options, the friendly staff, and Trader Joe's many premade frozen foods creates an environment in which even reluctant shoppers feel at ease. It is not the right grocery store if you have a detailed list of ingredients for a dinner party, as you are likely to come up short on a few things. But if you just know that you want to eat Indian food later in the week, you can just check out the many options on offer at Trader Joe's that day. There is a lightness to this style of shopping that undoubtedly makes it easier to toss a surprise box of frozen mini samosas into your basket.

As effective as the reduced choices and comfortable vibe might be, nothing gets us to pull out our wallets quite like a sense of scarcity — and Trader Joe's has perfected the art of cultivating this mindset with its carefully-curated inventory.

Part of what makes shopping at Trader Joe's so exciting is that the products are constantly changing. When the leaves start to change, you can count plenty of new Trader Joe's fall items hitting the shelves. But even aside from the seasonal goodies, Trader Joe's is constantly discontinuing products and replacing them with new, interesting options. The downside to this, of course, is that after you fall in love with a particular product, it can disappear from the shelves for good with no warning. There are some steadfast items that have stuck around for years, but there are no guarantees at Trader Joe's. So, if you see something you want, you'd better buy it — and if you really like it, well, you'd better buy a few.

In the end, it may be that there is no way to avoid accidentally filling your cart with extras during a visit to Trader Joe's. It is not a nefarious scheme from some grocery overlord that leads to this, as Trader Joe himself is not pushing buttons in a shadowy lair to trick you into buying more. It is simply the case that all of the reasons we like shopping at Trader Joe's are also triggers for buying things that we don't need. You might as well just lean into it and enjoy those maple leaf ice cream sandwiches while you can.