It's psychology. Physically engaging with the product makes customers more likely to purchase it. And having it be disorganized draws the customer's attention.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I don’t know about the disorganized part. Like book stores don’t do this. But you’d see Walmart do it with like DVDs. I’d guess it’s more about not wanting to waste worker time organizing it.

[–] moakley@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

The candy and the DVDs come neatly packed in perfectly sized boxes.

A messy bin is more work and takes up more space, but it makes shoppers feel like they're getting a better deal.

I'm not making this up. It's a well-established thing.

[–] thejoker954@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Well books are more likely to be damaged if they are just in a pile whereas dvd and candy boxes aren't.

Also some bookstores do indeed look like a tornado just came through - just not corporate chains like barnes and nobles.