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At most major distributors the banana is in position 1 on the scales. Why?
You’ve probably already noticed it when you’re weighing fruit and vegetables at a major distributor: Bananas are number 1 when weighed in almost every store. But why?
“Popular and available all year round”
Migros and Volg write that the banana is in position 1 because it is the best-selling fruit. And because it is available all year round.
At Coop the bananas have the number 100 and 101 for organic bananas. Before Coop switched the scales to touchscreens, the banana was also at number 1, reports Coop. Since customers have gotten used to the numbers, this will no longer be changed.
And what system does the major distributors use to assign the numbers for the remaining vegetables and fruit, the SRF consumer magazine “Espresso” wants to know: Alphabetically? By popularity?
Same varieties have similar numbers
At Volg, fruits and vegetables are grouped by category. The different lettuces have a similar number on the scale, as do the different tomatoes and so on.
Coop spokesman Caspar Frey says: “We have no specific logic as to how the numbers are assigned. We pre-assign them.” However, fruits or vegetables that are available all year round always have the same number when weighed. For example onions, broccoli or bananas. Chestnuts, on the other hand, have changing numbers at Coop because they are only available seasonally.
Migros wants to relocate the fresh food department
And speaking of fruit and vegetables: Why do you walk through the fruit and vegetable section right at the start of most stores? No coincidence, says the Coop spokesman. This is how we consciously create a market atmosphere: “This is how our customers smell the freshness, and that invites them to come in.”
This has also been the case at Migros until now. But now she wants to rethink her store concept. In the future, fruit and vegetables will be placed in the middle of the branch, writes a spokesman. So that customers can “pack their purchases a little more optimally”.