Take me home…

For supermarkets, unsold single bananas are a major source of food waste, not to mention missed revenue. They’re often left on the shelf after the rest of the bunch have been picked. So how do you encourage people to buy them? Researchers have found that adding the message “we are sad singles and want to be bought as well” works wonders – increasing average sales by 58%. The trick is to tug at the heartstrings.

I was reminded of this when passing a chair with the rather curt ‘Take me’ message left on it:

I was tempted to put something more emotional, such as “I’m a lonely chair looking for a new life”, or “Please don’t leave me behind”, or simply “Take me home”.

As with solitary bananas so with unwanted chairs and indeed pretty much anything you’re offering – to win people over, make it personal and above all appeal to the heart.