The Psychology of Shopping

When a few of my interests are combined, such as shopping, marketing, and psychology, I’m simply intrigued. You should be too.

Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, by Paco Underhill, reveals marketing strategies and tactics aimed at general consumers. In other words, there is a system to the layout of a store and display of products; the end goal is to get you to spend more money.

Since most people are right-handed, they instinctively turn right upon entering a store. The bright lights, colorful displays, and loud music, not to mention the more expensive items, are most often hyped up on the right for this reason. Have you ever easily found the clearance rack? The only way to find it is to walk past all the strategically placed items to the back of the store, but you may be distracted along the way.

I find the psychology behind it the most interesting. We are prone to falling into habitual behaviors, such as turning right, and its truly amazing that people research those behaviors to cater to our needs—or our weaknesses for that matter. This is also how impulse buying works. You have every intention of buying what you came for, but the bright colors and sale prices distract you for a minute. By the time you reach the check out, you have more than what you came for.

Do you think there is a true science to shopping? It makes me wonder if certain colors or specific types of products are more enticing than others to consumers. Does the type of store matter when it comes to this strategic marketing? What do you think?