15 Things Every Grocery Store Displayed Near the Checkout in the 1970s

In the 1970s, grocery store checkout lanes became mini-markets with practical items, quick treats, and tiny temptations. Shoppers waited near gum, candy, magazines, batteries, lighters, matchbooks, film, razor blades, lip balm, cards, lottery tickets, and paper bags. Each item entertained kids, reminded adults of errands, or spiced up a grocery run. These displays showed decade-specific habits like smoking, family TV, film photography, and paper bagging. Near the register, nothing felt random. Every product was small, useful, familiar, or irresistible. They rendered the checkout line a final stop for American life.

1. Candy Cigarettes

In the 1970s, you could find candy cigarettes everywhere at grocery store checkouts. Brands like World Confections’ Candy Cigarettes came in small paper packs that looked like real cigarette boxes. The kids saw them standing beside their parents in the long checkout lines. The chalky candy sticks even blew a little puff of sugar sometimes. They were placed where you could easily see them, making them a common impulse purchase. Smoking was still widely accepted during the decade, and the display was rarely questioned by adults. The products were considered playful at the time, although later generations took a very different view. Their presence was a memorable symbol of the era.

2. Wrigley’s Chewing Gum

The checkout racks in 1970s grocery stores often were filled with rows of Wrigley’s chewing gum. Popular flavors were Spearmint, Doublemint, and Juicy Fruit. Bright packaging caught attention as customers waited for cashiers to ring up groceries. Children requested a pack more often, and adults added one without much thought. The gum was cheap and an easy last-minute purchase. Many carried it in purses, shirt pockets, or glove compartments. Grocery managers knew the appeal and placed it where nearly everyone could see it. The familiar colorful packs became a reliable fixture next to cash registers across America for the decade.

3. TV Guide Magazine

TV Guide had good real estate next to grocery store checkout counters in the 1970s. Television viewing was a major part of family life, and many homes relied on the magazine to organize their weekly entertainment. The latest issue’s cover usually featured popular television stars, luring curious shoppers in. While waiting to pay for groceries, customers would often grab a copy. The magazine featured schedules, program descriptions, and special broadcasts, and was a useful item in the home. Demand remained strong as TV choices steadily increased over the decade. Its popularity was seen in grocery stores, and it was prominently placed in front of almost every customer as they left.

4. Life Savers Rolls

In the 1970s, Life Savers rolls were arranged in carefully organized rows next to several checkout counters. Rolls with flavors such as Pep-O-Mint, Wint-O-Green, and Five Flavor offered consumers a bite-sized treat that could be easily carried in a pocket or purse. When contrasted with the metal racks and candy trays near the register, the colorful wrappers stood out. Both their round shape and straightforward packaging made them easy to identify. It was convenient for grocery stores to have them because they were inexpensive, compact, and easy to grab. Even just one roll could make the trip home more enjoyable.

5. Tabloid Newspapers

Tabloid newspapers waited by the checkout, with loud headlines and strange stories. Papers like the National Enquirer were stacked with candy and gum at arm’s length from shoppers. The covers were full of celebrity secrets, miracle cures, shocking crimes, and unusual mysteries. Even the ones who said they would never buy them still scanned the headlines while standing in line. Waiting was fun with papers. Gossip was part of the weekly grocery run, and the cashiers rang it up along with the bread, milk, and canned goods. They had bold type and dramatic photos you could not miss. Many stores found tabloids to be reliable impulse sellers.

6. Bic Disposable Lighters

In the 1970s, smoking was still common, and Bic disposable lighters were often found near cash registers. Adults used them for cigarettes, candles, gas stoves, and grills in the backyard. They were easy to spot next to gum and mints because of their bright plastic bodies. Before the advent of disposable lighters, many people still carried matches, so a cheap lighter seemed modern and convenient. Grocery stores put them near the register because shoppers remembered at the last second. A father might set one by a newspaper. A clerk slipped it into the paper bag. The little lighter became a pocket-sized symbol of convenience.

7. Matchbooks

In the 1970s, matchbooks were often found near many grocery checkouts, usually in small boxes or shallow trays. Some had store names, ads for local restaurants, or tobacco brands on them. They bought them for cigarettes, pilot lights, campfires, and birthday candles. They were light, cheap, and easy to toss into a pocket. Many stores gave away plain matchbooks, but larger packs of kitchen matches were sold in the neighborhood. Matches seemed like an everyday thing when there were smoking sections practically everywhere. They were picked up by people without much thought and left the store. Today, those tiny folded matchbooks seem like little souvenirs from a smoky world.

8. Reader’s Digest

Reader’s Digest was usually located near the grocery checkout lanes in the 1970s. It was small, perfect for crowded racks next to the register. Its clean cover, short articles, jokes, health pieces, and human-interest stories were what shoppers knew it for. It fitted easily into a handbag, glove compartment, or bedside drawer. Parents bought it for light reading after dinner, while older shoppers enjoyed its mixture of practical advice and light entertainment. Reader’s Digest was not one of those tacky tabloids. It was respectable and familiar. It was shown in grocery stores because it appealed to a wide age range. Another quiet pleasure joined the family’s paper grocery bag in the form of a copy.

9. Batteries

Back in the 1970s, batteries were commonly sold in blister packs or little cardboard displays hanging near checkout lanes in grocery stores. Eveready and Duracell supplied flashlights, transistor radios, toys, clocks, and portable cassette players. The register display solved a common problem, and families only thought about batteries when something went wrong. Parents paid and saw them and added a pack before the cashier totaled them. The displays may not have been glamorous, but they were useful. A Saturday shopping trip can give a child a toy or a flashlight on hand for storms.

10. Film Rolls

In the 1970s, many checkout counters displayed film rolls, most notably from Kodak and Polaroid. Families used them for birthdays, holidays, school events, vacations, and everyday snapshots. A yellow Kodak box might remind a shopper of a weekend picnic or a child’s recital. Grocery stores knew that film was easy to forget until the last minute. The small boxes fit neatly alongside batteries, candy, and magazines. Some stores enhanced the display’s usefulness by offering film-developing services. Buying film at checkout made everyday errands into preparation for memories. One small roll signified an entire envelope of pictures to come.

11. Razor Blades

Razor blades showed up near the check-out lines because they are small, valuable, and easy to forget. Companies such as Gillette and Schick sold replacement blades for safety razors and the first cartridge systems. Men bought them to shave their stubble every morning before work, and women bought them to groom themselves. Stores put them near the cashier to prevent theft and to encourage impulse buying. The packages looked plain next to candy, but they filled a real household need. A shopper who is buying milk and coffee might remember that he has a dull razor at home. That forgotten bathroom item is easy to add through checkout displays.

12. ChapStick

In the 1970s, small displays near grocery registers often held ChapStick tubes. The familiar black and white label promised relief for dry lips in winter, windy days, or after long hours outdoors. Especially when the cold weather set in, shoppers grabbed one almost without thinking. Children used it at school, mothers kept it in their purses, and fathers kept it in their jacket pockets. It was so tiny it was perfect to pop in the checkout. It was a simple-looking product, but it solved an everyday problem. Along with gum, candy, and magazines, ChapStick reminded customers that comfort could be quickly purchased before heading back out into the weather.

13. Playing Cards

In the 1970s, playing cards were sometimes found near grocery checkouts, especially Bicycle or Hoyle decks. Families played them for rummy, bridge, solitaire, poker nights, rainy afternoons. A deck was cheap, small, and useful in almost any home. Customers remembered cards before vacations, camping trips, or weekend gatherings, and stores put cards near the register. They were easy to see among magazines and candy, thanks to the bright tuck boxes. In a time when phones didn’t fill every quiet moment, cards provided simple entertainment. A shopper could buy a deck with groceries and bring home an evening of fun and laughter.

14. Lottery Tickets

By the 1970s, lottery tickets began to appear next to checkout counters in states where lotteries were legal. New York set up its modern lottery in the late 1960’s, and a number of other states did the same during the decade. Grocery stores were a natural spot to buy tickets since shoppers already had cash on hand. The tickets were by the cashiers where the grown-ups could ask for them quickly. For many customers, a ticket added a little fun to a routine grocery trip. The receipt was for bread, eggs, milk, and a hopeful chance of money. The display brought luck close, cheap, and part of the weekly routine.

15. Paper Shopping Bags

Paper shopping bags were not always for sale, but they were always available within reach of the checkout in 1970s grocery stores. Cashiers and bag boys stacked them up under counters, next to registers, or at the end of bagging stations. Inside the brown bags were canned goods, boxes of cereal, glass bottles of soda, and produce wrapped in paper or plastic. Some were marked with the store’s name, some were plain. Before plastic bags took over, the rhythm of checkout was set by paper bags. The trip was over. The sound of their crinkling. A full bag meant the family’s pantry would be stocked again.

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