When retailers roll out flash sales and deep discounts, the actual price of the freshly marked-down merchandise is only one factor enticing shoppers to buy. Rather than carefully considering whether the item is worth the newly discounted asking price, consumers are often prompted to buy during a short-lived sale because stumbling upon …
psychology
‘Tis the Season of Self-Gifting
There’s nothing a retailer likes more than a consumer who goes shopping for gifts, and who winds up picking up a few things for herself while she’s at it. Earlier in the shopping season, a rise in self-gifting was projected, with 57.1% of pent-up consumers expected to take advantage of deals and buy stuff for themselves on gift-getting …
Cheapskate Wisdom … About What Kids Learn from Most Toys
“What lessons do our children learn from toys? It could very well be that they are primarily learning to be avid consumers.”
The Secrets of a Master Retail Manipulator
Cheap trendy jewelry and amusing throwaway gifts are placed strategically to encourage impulse buys and lure shoppers further into the depths of the store, where pricier items—and the occasional celebrity—lurk. Consumers can’t help themselves.
The Perfect Gift: The Miracle of Pain-Free, Guilt-Free Stuff
By now, you’ve probably given some thought to the mysterious concept known as “the perfect gift.” You want to give it. You want to receive it. But what exactly makes a gift perfect?
Consumer Phrase of the Day: ‘Licensing Effect’
While you may have never heard of this expression, it explains why, during the season focused on gift giving, you’re probably going to selfishly get something for yourself in the course of holiday shopping excursions.
Smart Holiday Shopping Tip: Bring Your Psychologist With You to the Mall
What, does that sound impractical? If so, consider at least reading these two stories filled with insights that’ll help you make smart purchases—and help you avoid ones you’ll regret so much you’ll have to talk them over with your shrink.
Pump Up Your Willpower: Why You Should Flex Your Muscles When You’re Too Weak to Fight Off the Urge to Buy
Here’s one of those weird-yet-fascinating, quirky-yet-perhaps-helpful research findings: People who clench their muscles—by, say, making a fist or tensing their biceps—show a brief spurt of improved willpower. So, if one of your long-term goals is to save money, you might be able to fight off the impulse buy urge when shopping by …
Seeking ‘Retail Therapy’ When What You Need Is Real Therapy
Why do some people take their roles as consumers literally and consume and consume and consume—purchasing items they don’t need, splurging on silly gifts (for friends and themselves) without pausing to consider costs, hitting the mall whenever they’re feeling down or bored, and digging themselves huge amounts of credit card debt in the …
Psych Study: When You’re Bummed, You’re More Likely to Buy
The idea of conspicuous consumption implies some amount of showing off. You buy stuff to demonstrate, in conspicuous fashion, just how well you’re doing. But a new study shows that buying high-status goods isn’t only about flashing some plumage. You might also be willing purchase pricey goods for entirely internal reasons—specifically, …
Why You Buy What You Buy and Do What You Do: Because It’s Easy
“Cognitive fluency,” in psychologist phraseology, is the human tendency to prefer things that are familiar and easy to understand. This tendency plays into just about every decision you make—what you deem beautiful, what political messages resonate, what products earn your loyalty (and dollars), and so on. It’s even been shown that the …
Saving Money: It’s All in Your Head
Silly games can equal serious savings. Here are a handful of psychological money tricks that work.
