More on the psychology of shopping and tricks to make you spend...

Salesperson: "Date of birth?"

You: "23^rd March 1972"

Salesperson: "That’s amazing, that's my birthday too!"

A mere coincidence? Or a trick to make you spend?

A new study just published in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that when you share something, such as a birthday, with a salesperson you are more likely to buy from them and to  feel good about it.

The researchers found that when people found they had the same a birthday as a personal trainer they were more likely to purchase a gym membership. 

This is just another example of the unconscious psychological forces that are shaping every financial decision we make.  

It’s all down to our human need for connectedness which is so powerful that  even an incidental similarity (the same birthday, name or a shared place of birth) makes us more favourably disposed towards another person.

Perceived similarity makes us feel connected.

This need for connectedness extends to touch too. Earlier studies found that if a waitress or waiter gently touched a customer on the arm when handing over the bill, they would receive a larger tip.

I suspect that compliments work in the same way.  Shopping in London last week I was twice complimented by the sales assistant as I was paying for goods. One loved my rings, another said my glasses were cool. Of course, I left the shop in a positive frame of mind, but were their compliments a clever ploy to make sure I did?

Here's your purchase, with a whopping compliment thrown in... 

In the previous post some other tricks were highlighted. 

• Many people pop into a shop for a pint of milk only to find it’s right at the back and they have to pass racks of other tempting goodies to get there. 
• Cosmetic aisles are secluded so that women have time and space to read the labels. 
• Men’s changing rooms are easier to find because retailers know men are very likely to buy once they’ve tried.

In an earlier post I highlighted some more design tricks aimed at seducing us into spending.

• The absence of clocks in shopping centres so you lose track of time. 
• Confusing layouts so you get lost and wander into temptation territory. 
• Mirrors to slow you down. 
• Birdsong and waterfalls to slow your heart rate.

With all these wily ways it’s amazing anyone ever gets out of a shopping centre with their finances intact. Short of being mugged, it’s a sure-fire way of being fleeced. 

So next time you think you’re in control, remind yourself of some of these tricks and be on your guard!

10 design tricks to turn us all into shopping zombies

This morning, after apparently being quoted in the Daily Mail talking about women's love of shopping, I popped out to the local shop where I'm staying in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye.
It looks like this (below).

Skye's answer to Westfield? Not a digital waterfall in sight.

I know, they couldn't make it less appealing if they tried.  But there's a certain authenticity to this type of shop;  a corrugated-tin reminder that shopping is just about getting the stuff we need, not a leisure activity.

 Shopping is just something we do in order to live better lives, it shouldn't be the way we live our life.

I wasn’t the first to compare shoppers to zombies (see earlier post and a dazzling analysis by Mimi Spencer in Saturday’s Times) and I’m sure I won’t be the last, but recent news about a million shoppers invading Westfield in its first week of opening got me thinking again about the draw of the mall. And all the psychological tricks that are pulled to make sure the mindless keep searching those seven miles of shop fronts, perhaps in the vain hope they’ll find their lost soul.

Are you being served? Or manipulated?

Westfield’s marketing team are on a mission to make sure the shopper stays for at least two hours. Because the average person won't be able to go for more than two hours without parting with a hefty proportion of their paypacket, and feeling the need to top it off with a cappuchino and a visit to one of its 50 cafes.

Here's how the designers-cum-brainwashers plan the mall to persuade you to suspend your critical faculties and surrender to the goddess of eternal consumption:

·     No clocks for fear you might notice the time (and your life) slipping away and feel compelled to rush empty-handed towards the exit.

·       The soul-less exterior of the mall, anonymous and blank enhances the contrast effect as you enter the sparkling glassy jingly interior.

·       Deliberately disorientating layouts so you get lost and retrace your steps or go off on an aimless purse-splurge.

·       Reflective echoing floors that make the carpeted interior of the shops more alluring.

·       Ditto the harsh lighting in the malls contrasting with the seductive and glitzy lighting of the shops’ interiors.

·       Mirrors on the walls between shops. People slow down when they pass mirrors (vanity) and how can they sell to you if youre rushing around?

·       Slowing your pace down slows your heart rate and even your blink rate, rendering you more mesmerised and gullible. Piped birdsong and a digital waterfall help the coma-induction process.

·       Shopping stretches of a maximum length of 300 metres, about the distance for which buying interest can be held at a peak before waning.

·       Expanses of stores above and around that are visible through glass balustrades and open plan escalators, giving uninterrupted views of tempting targets,

·       Scrupulously clean floors so your attention is exclusively fixed on shop fronts and not distracted by having to step over or around street detritus.

So next time you realise you spent more time in the shopping centre than you'd intended and more cash than you could afford, you'll know how it happened.

Save hundreds of pounds a year by switching brands?

Martin Isark has an enviable job. 

He’s a professional food and drink taster. He also runs a website called SupermarketOwnBrandGuide.co.uk where you can compare the cost of 2,000 of own-brand products from the main supermarkets with their branded rivals.

The Times featured Martin’s website today and it also appeared in an online article from the Mail recently from which I quote:

“Aldi's chocolate digestives, for instance, which cost 49p a pack, score ten out of ten and are as good as McVities, which cost about £1.30. 
Likewise, Marks and Spencer's Organic 24 Whole Grain Wheat Bisks cost £1.69 and are as good as Organic Weetabix, which costs around £2.27.

And not just with food  -  washing powders, dishwasher tablets and toiletries are worth trying, too. You could save literally hundreds of pounds a year with some simple changes.”

If you’ve the time you could try a blind tasting. Martin swears that most people can’t tell any difference in taste and quality between the top brand of sugar, chocolate biscuits and cornflakes and their supermarket counterparts. He even says that Lidl’s chocolate is better than Green and Blacks. And half the price.

Are we being conned?

I bought some beautifully wrapped 'artisan' Taleggio cheese from Waitrose last week and paid nearly a fiver for a piece barely fit for the mouse trap. 
Blindfolded I swear it tasted uncannily like a Dairy Lea cheese triangle (price 92p for 8).