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" What you need: dish soap and toothpaste. What you buy: $55 worth of nail polish, cards, and trail mix that somehow leapt into your basket. Here are the tricky traps most drugstores have set up for you. 1. The sheer size of the place As soon as you walk in, you&amp;#039;re overwhelmed by how big and bright the space is, and the expanded inventories: food like sushi, fruit salad, wine, and gourmet chocolate, never mind the books and pool toys. How convenient! However, these items are usually more expensive than they would be at a supermarket, book or sporting goods store. TIP: Compare toiletry prices at the drugstore chains with smaller shops. If mouthwash and cough drops ring up around the same at both places, shop where there is less temptation. Or buy online: Soap.com offers free delivery with a minimum purchase and 20% off your first order. 2. The in-your-face entrance Seasonal items you didn&amp;#039;t come in to buy, like toys and holiday decor, are up front so you&amp;#039;ll get excited for Halloween or Christmas and drop dollars. It works: 76% of purchasing decisions are made in the store. TIP: Instead of lingering at the display, look for a coupon kiosk, which Rite Aid and CVS stores often have at the front. Scan your loyalty card to get an instant printout of coupons, deals and freebies. 3. The alluring &amp;quot;power aisle&amp;quot; Some chains now employ salespeople in lab coats to entice you with sparkly or sweet-smelling cosmetics that may not be what you came in to buy. TIP: If you&amp;#039;re there for sunscreen, dandruff shampoo or hair regrowth products, try the less-expensive store brands, which usually contain the same active ingredient. Or if you want to treat yourself, look for a pampering product that offers loyalty points. At Walgreens, 5,000 points means $5 off. RELATED: The 8 Best Age Fighters You Can Buy at the Drugstore 4. Circular layout Many stores are set up to encourage you to walk the perimeter (picking up &amp;quot;must-haves&amp;quot; as you go). TIP: Head straight to what&amp;#039;s on your list. It&amp;#039;s fine to scan for sales on staples \u2014 especially if they&amp;#039;ll earn you loyalty program rewards \u2014 but the heavier your basket gets with what you need, the less impulse buying you&amp;#039;ll do. 5. Shelf games Stores place product lines together on the shelf so you wind up buying not just duster refills, but the new sweeper, handles and attachments. TIP: Focus instead on shelf cards that offer reward dollars or points, such as &amp;quot;1,000 points if you buy two tubes of toothpaste X.&amp;quot; If you also use coupons, you may even earn more money in the form of in-store credits than you spent on toothpaste. You can always donate extra toiletries to charity and take a tax deduction. 6. Loss leaders Stores sell certain items, such as a $2 gallon of milk, for cheap, in hopes that you&amp;#039;ll buy things with a bigger profit margin on impulse. Loss leaders are often kept by the fancy nuts or the cold 20-ounce sodas (which cost more than the 2-liter bottles!). TIP: Drugstores usually offer deals on cereal (if you don&amp;#039;t mind switching it up, different cereals tend to go on sale each week). Other well-priced kitchen staples include eggs, spices, storage bags and plastic wrap. RELATED: 6 Things You Should Always Buy at Drugstores 7. Freestanding displays See that special backdrop and shelf displaying the hay fever medicine \u2014 just when you need it? Not so fast: A flashy setup doesn&amp;#039;t necessarily indicate that the product isa good deal. TIP: Look for specific savings signs (&amp;quot;save $2&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;1/2 off&amp;quot;) or tear-off coupons on a pad attached to the display. These things usually do mean savings. 8. The rear pharmacy This location helps deter drug theft, and makes it easier to keep a clean workspace. But it also means you must trek through goodie-filled aisles for your Rx. TIP: Visit a drive-through pharmacy. Or leave the credit at home and shop only with your HSA (health savings account) debit card, which will limit you to buying health-related items. 9. The checkout counter ploy Snacks and small impulse grabs (that hand sanitizer keychain!) are in big bins that make you want to reach in. TIP: If you&amp;#039;re also picking up a prescription, pay at the pharmacy, which generally has fewer easy-to-grab goodies. This story originally appeared on WomansDay.com Photo: Kristian Sekulic / Getty Images "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/money/advice/a19916/drugstore-sneaky-tricks/>