Parents Eating Up Store Promotion

A grocery chain in Alaska has begun offering checkout stands billed as “candy-free zones.”

In a new twist of the adage “out of sight, out of mind,” Carrs Quality Centers says its new checkout lines are free from the rows of kid-level candy and gum stocked at most of the store’s cashier stands.

“I think it’s great for kids who don’t know how to take ‘no’ for an answer,” said customer Tese Klumpp, who checked through a no-candy line at an Anchorage store.

The idea for the program came from customers, mostly parents weary of waging the eternal battle of chocolate at the checkout, officials of the chain said.

After two years and a few hundred requests, the chain decided to make one checkout lane per store candy-free.

“We try to run our business on the basis of what our customers want,” Chief Executive John Cairns said. “We know we’ll lose some money, because candy and gum are big impulse buys.”

Very big. Cairns estimated that candy sales are good for about $5,000 per check stand per week.