You walked in for milk and eggs.

You walked out with more.

Not wildly more.

Just enough.

In this episode of Curious by Design, we explore how grocery stores became some of the most carefully engineered decision environments we encounter every week, and why feeling slightly disoriented inside one is not an accident.

Before self-service stores, customers handed a list to a clerk and left with exactly what they needed. That changed in 1916 with the rise of the modern supermarket. Once customers began walking the aisles themselves, layout became leverage. Movement could be shaped. Attention could be guided. Exposure could be increased.

This episode breaks down the psychology behind store design: why produce is placed up front, why milk and eggs sit at the edges, why carts are oversized, why prices end in .99, why eye-level shelf space is expensive, and why music, lighting, and even scent subtly influence how long you stay.

It’s not about forcing bad decisions.

It’s about creating more of them.

Uncertainty slows you down.

Time increases exposure.

Exposure increases spending.

The next time you find yourself wandering an aisle you didn’t mean to visit, remember: you’re not being careless. You’re moving through an environment built to keep you browsing—just long enough to notice something new.

That’s Curious by Design.

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