“Shop With Your Eyes”

July 7, 2011

Today’s Bit of Advice…

“Shop With Your Eyes”

My children are able to quote many of my bits of advice despite the fact that they are rarely able to follow the advice without many, many reminders.  The one I’ve ingrained most into their heads over the last few days is “Shop With Your Eyes.”  There is a second half to that quote that I don’t always add since the first half seems to be enough: “Not with your hands”.

Seems that we cannot get through any store without the kids stopping every 18 inches to touch the merchandise.  It really doesn’t matter what the store sells -grocery store, drug store, Target, Walmart, hardware store, furniture store.  They have to feel the fabrics, smell the items, pick up things, sit on sofas, and see if you can flush display toilets.  And on and on.

I remind and remind that we need to shop with our eyes and only use our hands when necessary to check the price, size, or comfort of items we actually intend to purchase.  This habit of shopping with our eyes makes running errands incredibly time consuming.  Today we had to pick up four items at Target yet it took over 30 minutes to get out of the store.  I had children checking out bikinis, carrying toys through the store with the hope that Mom would buy them, reading Wii game boxes, sniffing toothpaste options and the like.  This doesn’t even include what happens in the checkout line with all the candy, gum, and toy selections right up against our cart.  That’s touch city!

Shop with your eyes, not your hands.

For adults the same advice is actually quite helpful.  Have you ever noticed how much easier it is buying something once you’ve touched it?  It’s as if you start to own the item in your mind just by picking it up off the shelf or rack.  I can go in a store with the intention of only buying one item and then fill a cart just because I started touching things.

Since I’ve been doling out the “shop with your eyes” advice to the kids, I have had more pressure to model the same behavior myself.  It really does help me keep my money in my wallet.  I look for deals and still buy some spontaneously but it is much easier to remember what I went to the store to buy this way.

Shop with your eyes, not your hands.

Try it.  I bet you’ll find that it works.  And think of all the great deals you can get with all the money you save!

I’m off to the Farmer’s Market this afternoon.  What is the chance I’m not going to pick up some fruits and vegetables to check them for their wonderful smell? Or the cheese bread that I’ll have to touch?  LOL – sometimes you have to shop with your hands (and nose) anyway!

Hope you enjoyed the read.