The Place With The Food by Eric S.

esain1_1 — 2025-01-29 23:11:15 UTC

There's a lot of copywriting going on in the produce sections. More than I see in other locations inside the store outside of perhaps the bakery.

esain1_1 — 2025-01-29 23:11:48 UTC

Here we have perceived variety due to the size and organization of the assortments of candy despite there being only really a few different options (Khan & Wansink, 2004).

I don't eat candy often these days—ever since I fixed my sleep issues I've managed to have more self-control over my impulses (Baumeister, 2002)—but every time I go to find what I'm looking for, I absolutely arrive with higher expectations due to the assumed selection variety only to leave dissatisfied because no locations carry dark chocolate KitKats (Diehl & Poynor, 2010).

esain1_1 — 2025-01-29 23:12:11 UTC

Here we can see bigger brand names anchoring people into the aisles for the possibility of being exposed to the lesser known brands nearby (Diehl & Poynor, 2010).

Admittedly, I discovered a new toothpaste to try today as a result of this.

That being said, there is a lot of of two well known brands on display in the majority of the shelf space. Giving some breathing room to the lessor known ones I stumbled upon could potentially help them out while not doing any damage to the established brands (Montoya, Mandel, & Nowlis, 2005).

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:28:05 UTC

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:28:22 UTC

Tom Thumb could also improve its brand by having more eggs, as I was left dissatisfied by the unorganized small assortment of options without much variety; however, it did save me from choice overload and provided some context into which eggs my neighbors are usually buying (Kahn & Wansink, 2004; Diehl & Poynor, 2010; Berman, 2005; Montoya, Mandel, & Nowlis, 2005).

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:28:35 UTC

Here we have a large assortment of candy organized specifically to influence customers to grab more than they would had the candy been disorganized or displayed in smaller assortments (Khan & Wansink, 2004).

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:35:18 UTC

Above you can see the "Bonus Path" as well as the Student Discount. I log into the app every week to run through and clip coupons and find points and deals to continue to live the lie that I'm saving money through this and not ultimately spending more than I would had I never downloaded the app.

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:35:33 UTC

Tom Thumb Rewards... themselves with my money.

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:43:00 UTC

Tom Thumb has a fantastic rewards program that has pulled me and others into their system due to the points, perks, and sales (Peelen et al., 2009).

I even get a 5% discount for being a student on all checkouts—which, I must admit, made me feel not just satisfied, but delighted (Berman, 2005).

They've recently implemented "Bonus Paths" where there is a set amount of money to spend in the store by a specific date to unlock bonus points.

The points can be used to "save money" at checkout or at the gas pump.

"Who Am I?" - Zoolander

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:47:16 UTC

Tom Thumb is in a very weird place right now with Albertsons as they were supposed to have merged. For those of you that have stuck around until the end, this Tom Thumb was an Albertsons about a year ago. They did a little remodeling to clean it up a bit, but it's still very much an Albertsons on the inside.

This location needs a much larger overhaul to fit the look and feel of other Tom Thumbs that I have been to.

Welcome to Albert... Tom Thumb

esain1_1 — 2025-01-30 01:49:50 UTC

I decided to visit the place that I visit one or two times a day: Tom Thumb.

The staff is very friendly and helpful—willing to go the extra mile to check in the back for an out-of-stock item. The butcher will intentionally mislabel the ribeye value packs as the on sale new york strips from time-to-time which always inspires a feeling of joy and surprise. As a result, they likely get 35% more spending from me (Berman, 2005).

There is an HEB being built right now about a mile away and half a block from my location. So, documenting Tom Thumb while it lasted seemed like a good way to capture some memories and remember the good times when I look back at those years I went to Tom Thumb instead of HEB.