Stores are designed to make us walk past lots of products we hadn't planned on buying to get to the items we buy regularly such as milk, eggs and bread

• 'Impulse buys' such as sweets and magazines are placed by the till to catch our eye whilst we are queuing

• Goods that make the most profit are placed at eye-level. Goods that make the least profit are on the top and bottom shelves

• Store layouts are changed regularly to get us to walk round the store to find what we want

• The smell of freshly baked bread or roast chickens wafting through the store makes us hungry  and more likely to buy more food

• Slow music in a store makes us walk slower and therefore buy more

• Loyalty cards are designed to find out about our shopping habits. We are then targeted with special offers that fit our 'profile'

• Products for children are placed at their eye-level so they see then and use 'pester power' to get us to buy them

• The free samples you get in the stores are there to whet our appetites and encourage us to buy the product

• Popular products are priced below their value as 'loss leaders'. This makes us think that everything in the store is cheap

Now you are aware of the methods supermarkets' are using, you should be less likely to fall for them. Be strict with yourself - write a shopping list and stick to it.