The photography book Hungry Planet[1] by Peter Manzel shows what 30 families around the world typically purchase in groceries. Looking at them is almost like an exercise in find the bananas. A few of the families do not have bananas, but no other food is as common in the pictures.

[1] http://menzelphoto.com/galleries/hungry-planet/

I'm a surgeon and always ask patients what they do for a living. I once took care of a gentleman who travels the world for his company that designs and manufactures refrigeration units that are used to ripen green bananas. I never would have thought it.

I've heard this about Dutch stores as well. Supermarkets sell banana's at 0% margin or even a loss simply because it lures customers in.

They have been 49 cents per pound in the grocery store in NY, both where I grew and in WNY for as long as I can remember. They have got to be at a loss if you consider they don't adjust for inflation or gas prices, etc. Milk does this too if I'm not mistaken, a lot of grocery stores use that as a customer lure as well.

Or, put another way, because they HAVE to sell them: if you're the grocery that _doesn't_ carry bananas, people will move their shop elsewhere.

Same thing when I worked in a convenience store in Norway, bananas were far and away the most sold item, even during very busy seasonal peaks.

Bananas are the first item in the store. Just based on how they are merchandised it would be easy to predict this. (I know it is more complicated than that, please don't reply with "loss leader")