A Consumer Report

I've always thought of myself as a good consumer. I can see the practicality in a product, readily aknowledge arbitrage, and know the value of a dollar. I noticed something when I got home from the grocery store yesterday though. No, I didn't go to the crazy grocery store. [1, 2] Anyway, check the picture below.

Notice anything? I am a sucker for buying in multiples. I guess my thought process basically goes 'Well, I can buy this product for $X, but if I get Y of the product then I only have to pay $Z (where Z is an even dollar amount).'

'Hmm, we do need some Cokes at the house. I'll just grab this bottle, it's only $1.29. Holy shit, it must be my lucky day, I can get 3 bottles for $4! This works out well, because I was planning on drinking 6 liters of sugar water tonight.'

It's not like this thought process happened once. Judging by the picture, this ploy worked on almost every aisle from the juices to the butcher. Just from yesterday's spree alone, I'm stocked on Pop-tarts until 2012. I don't think the panoramic view on my camera could fit all of the Totinos frozen pizzas I bought. Kudos to the grocery store, they have definitely researched consumer habits.

Alas, there's more..

So then I was thinking, am I really getting ripped off here? For instance, I eat at mostly the same restaurants each month. Usually, I order the same thing from each restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I like to try new things.. but once I find a winner, I stick with it (i.e. Supremes from Bojangles, quesadillas from La Hacienda, Chris' Texas Cheesesteak from Waffle House, the SCAM roll from Wasabi, etc.). Naturally, this repititious behaviour carries over to what I buy at the store. So is the grocery store really pulling a fast on me, or is this a win-win situation where they sell more products and I'm just stealing a page out of the hard-working ant's playbook?