Product Placement vs. Clutter

I came across a New York Times article about how big stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and the like place crates or piles of products in the middle of isles as a way to get consumers to spend more. The article discusses how various stores have tried different de-cluttering techniques (especially in Wal-Mart) to make the store seem more organized and open.  Surprisingly this lowered the sales as customers started to doubt that Wal-Mart had the lowest prices.  It seems crazy to me that the more cluttered a place is, the higher the sales would be.  I would think customers would like the organization and ability to move more freely throughout the store rather than assume that since the store is more open, it is more expensive.

I tend to shop at Target more frequently than I do Wal-Mart and I can relate the article to what I see in Target on a regular bases.  Today I even fell culprit.  If you shop at Target ever, you will know that right through the doors on one side is a little food court and the other side is the dollar deal section.  The dollar section is usually filled with holiday decor and trinkets that no one really NEEDS but are fun and festive and eye catching.  Plus you can't beat the price!  I can only imagine the struggle trying to get little kids past that first corner of the store.

The article had some interesting points about the layout, storage and placement of merchandise to maximize sales by "tricking" customers into buying more than they initially intended.  If anyone is interested in reading it, here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/business/08clutter.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0