Stuff About Heuristics

Yesterday when I was on my way to the grocery store to buy jell-o for my ritual game-day blue and yellow jello-o-shots I realized that I drove all the way across town to go to Town & Country to get it when I could've just driven a few blocks and got the jell-o at Walmart. It had just occurred to me that I had done so because I always buy jell-o at T&C. Even though Walmart has the same brand of jell-o for approximately the same price I never think to go there.

Looking into it a little further I realized that there are a lot of places that I heuristically shop for certain products.  For instance I always buy my Top Ramen and veggies at T&C,  and my shampoo and shower gel at Walmart. It even goes so far as to decide where I get certain brands of beer. If I am buying Cold Smoke I will get that at Albertson's, Budweiser at Walmart, or Shock Top at T&C.

Though these preferences may have started out because of pricing or selection that is no longer why I do it. I have trained myself to go to a certain place for a certain product regardless of pricing. One reason I think I am drawn to a certain place is because when I think about what I need I visualize the product on the shelf and which grocery store it is in. This is a good example of why shops want to get people in their early 20's to start shopping at their stores early on. Once people start shopping somewhere for a certain item they usually look there first from then on.