The Sweet Scavenger Hunt Built Into Every Trader Joe's

Grocery shopping is one of those dreaded tasks we're all responsible for week after week, regardless of our busy schedules. Our basic human need for nourishment relinquishes us to grocery stores more than we'd like. According to the Time Use Institute, the average person spends at least 40 minutes per grocery trip and makes 1.5 trips each week (via CreditDonkey). This averages out to more than 50 hours a year spent within the walls of a retail food market. While there may be one logical reason you should only shop at one grocery store at a time, incentives play a big role for consumers, and niche supermarket Trader Joe's has acquired a considerable following over the years.

In 2018 and 2019, Trader Joe's surpassed popular supermarkets, including Aldi and Whole Foods Market, in Dunnhumby's annual retailer preference index survey based on factors such as cost savings and customer loyalty (via The Shelby Report). Based on the criteria outlined by Customer Communications Group, Inc., the top characteristics for a major grocer to acquire customer loyalty include a positive shopping experience, good product value, and high-quality products. Elementum credits Trader Joe's simplified supply chain: working to keep costs low without compromising quality helps TJ's maintain a steady fanbase. 

The popular grocer also has a slew of other characteristics that set it apart from other national retailers, one of which is a scavenger hunt just for kids.

While you're deciding between the best Trader Joe's desserts to add to your shopping cart, you're in luck if you have a kid in tow who needs entertaining. The employees of this highly popular supermarket hide a special stuffed animal within the store perimeter for kids to find. Whether this crab or duck is tucked in front of a bag of chips or hanging from the rafters above those bottles of $2 wine, if a kid spots the animal and tells an employee at checkout, they're awarded a special treat. 

Trader Joe's spokesperson Kenya Friend-Daniel told Today that TJ's has been doing this little scavenger hunt of sorts for almost a decade. The employees are given an easy, fun way to interact with little shoppers. And each participating store features a different hidden creature.

Beyond stuffed animals, Mommynearest says that among the many reasons parents love shopping at Trader Joe's with kids are the small kid-sized grocery carts. Not all children love to sit in front of a large grocery cart watching their parents shop. The small carts are a way for kids to be able to move alongside their parents and help wheel those weekly necessities to the checkout lanes. Now that you know the perks of being a pint-sized shopper at Trader Joe's, what are some of the best adult-friendly benefits of shopping at the unique grocer?

Trader Joe's is able to keep prices low by buying directly from suppliers, hence your ability to shop the best Trader Joe's products under $5. However, private-label marketing and cost effectiveness aren't the only positives of shopping at the retailer. In addition to the tiny shopping carts and hidden stuffed animals, there are plenty of kid-approved healthy snacks available only at the niche supermarket (per Danielle Moss). But how is the retailer able to continue offering a unique variety of products?

According to Indigo9Digital, Trader Joe's stocks fewer products than most other national retailers, and the chain is able to reevaluate what customers love and don't care on a continual basis. Forbes says that among the continually revamped list of quality products, customers' ability to partake in samples and purchase products with one-of-a-kind names, such as Trader Joe's cinnamon bun-flavored Joe Joe's, make the overall shopping experience a special one. 

Whether it's the open freezers or the impressive assortment of seasonal products offered each year, plenty of American consumers are loyal TJ's shoppers.