I spoke to a Kroger manager about the cluttered aisles, and he said that it was a corporate decision. They had done studies and that when they put out lots of displays, people bought more on impulse. So the notion is they increase revenues from the same consumer base. I told him that if he was ever in one of those meetings, to tell them that a customer had asked “how much do you make when I start shopping at Walmart?” I’m about ready to start putting packs of chicken and fish in those wire displays that clog the aisles. One lady told me she knocks them over on purpose.
Retail operations are run by short sighted idiots. While one person will say tehir department has seen icnreased sales through such cluttered display another finds they have less customers but no one listens to that person. Usually, that person is let go for lack of performance but the problem was their customers were driven away by clutter. Years down the road some one with authority decides to remove the clutter then the cycle repeats.
For instance, Kroger (King Soopers here) allows people to basically panhandle, really sell thing, at the front doors. They are supposed to not confront customers but they do, plus I hate having to answer them everytime I go to the store.
Once time a lady shoved her flyer into my face, literally, and demanded I buy whatever the Hell it was she was selling. I was temporarily blinded by her flyer and ran into a small boy. His angle was cut fairly badly and went to the hsopital for treatment. We both let King Soopers know that any cost was going to them if we had to sue to get it. They have since cut back on the people they let panhandle. I immediately switched to Safeway and haven’t looked back. Shopping is a great experience compared to King Stupids.