Most products nowadays are sold based on their popularity and marketability, as opposed to the true needs of the consumers, which reflects the immense strangle-hold of advertising. While populations that prefer healthy products are more cautious and do not follow advertising trends, I agree with the notion that advertising plays a significant role in determining purchasing outcomes, evidenced by more expensive brands outselling less known brands of similar quality and product placement in retail stores.
To begin with, well-known products frequently outsell less-known ones, even though they are of similar quality. Most people like to be associated with big brands for the prestige, which dictates their shopping habits. They would rather pay more money to purchase clothes or appliances from popular manufacturers, instead of getting affordable ones from other stores. For example, fashion enthusiasts prefer clothes from brands such as Balenciaga and Gucci, despite clothes of similar quality and half the price being sold in other stores.
Additionally, placement of goods in supermarkets proved that the well marketed ones are found on the check-out counter and closest isles. This is based on their marketability because these supermarket chains know that these items will sell more. There may be other products more suitable to the consumers’ taste, which are placed at the back of the store due to low popularity. For instance, Target Supermarket and other famous chains have Coca-Cola and Pepsi on the front isle because they are more marketable and likelier to sell than other drinks.
Despite all the aforementioned points, there is a niche group of health-conscious clientele, who choose products based on its ingredients and health benefits. As a result, their shopping patterns will solely be guided by this aspect, as opposed to marketability. They would rather get an item at the back of the store that meets all their specifications, than one at the front that would endanger their health. One example of these types of people includes vegans and vegetarians, who only eat food that do not contain animal products.
In conclusion, aside from the health-conscious buyers, who only seek products that meet a certain standards; I concur that majority of consumers are influenced by advertising based on evidence of massive sales of popular brands and placement of goods in retail stores.