[WEB4LIB] RE: Is the milk in the back? (was Re: Alta

[Dan Ream]

On Wed, 21 Apr 1999 jlenze at tln.lib.mi.us wrote:
> I don't know that I would even buy the idea that stores put the milk in
> the back to make customers walk past merchandise, thus tempting us with
> more impulse purchases.  I figure they put the milk in back because the
> refridgerators they stock milk in are filled from the rear, thus the
> stock-persons need to access them from the back room (i.e. receiving).

I recommend the book entitled "Can You Trust a Tomato in January?" by
Vince Staten for a fascinating explanation of why grocery  stores do just
about everything. Sometimes there are multiple reasons; for example...why
is mushroom soup always at the bottom of the soup display? According to
Staten, it's partly because they want the newest varieties at your eye
level and they know that if you really want mushroom soup for that recipe,
you'll keep looking until you find it. But on the other hand, stores sell
and stock more mushroom soup than other varieties and it's easier to
restock those lowest shelves.

Having said that, I can't recall all the reasons for milk at the back, but
I think both arguments presented here (to make you walk through other
temptations & because they re-stock from the rear) have some validity.

By the way, I love seeing this question applied to libraries. Maybe we
should call Vince Staten (who also did a similar book on drugstores) to
dig into these deep library questions as well. ;-)

I would just hope we have as many good reasons for our practices as the
retail world does!

--Dan Ream
  Virginia Commonwealth University Library
  Richmond, Virginia