AHEAD

ANNE KATES SMITH > Your Mind and Your Money

What Makes Us Buy

Even the color

of the ink used
on sale signs
matters:
Markdowns in
red seem more
drastic and
therefore more
compelling.

28
KIPLINGERS PERSONAL FINANCE

12/2014

room is meant to distract you from the

effects of all who came before you.
The music you hear, if youre the target
customer, will be newer versions of what
was popular when you were 18. Youll recall the feeling of the good old days without
feeling stuck in the past. Lighting in clothing departments will be warm and soft, and
the clothing may be vanisizedmanufactured larger than the size on the tag or than
the same size in a competing brand. Your
perception of value can be skewed by the
contrast effect, says marketing professor
Dipayan Biswas, of the University of South
Florida. A $20 shirt seems like a bargain
when its placed next to $40 shirts. Even the
color of the ink used on sale signs matters:
Markdowns in red seem more drastic and
therefore more compelling.
Tricks of the trade. Are such retail tricks unethical? Not really, says neuroeconomist
Paul Zak, of the Center for Neuroeconomic
Studies at Claremont Graduate University.
Were always trying to manipulate people
for example, when were dating someone or
raising children. That people with a profit
motive manipulate us is not surprising, he
says. And many of the practices are what
make shopping enjoyable.
But you can make sure you dont sabotage
your budget. When you shop, clear your
schedule and bring a list. People with a plan
tend to spend the least, says Stephen Sands,
of neuromarketing firm Sands Research;
time-pressured shoppers spend more, and
more impulsively. Shop alone. Going with
a partner increases spending up to 17%,
says Lindstrom; with a friend, it goes up
between 7% and 9%. Wait before you buy,
whether you take a half-hour break or you
go home to sleep on a major purchase decision. That allows the cognitive areas of
your brain to engage. Remember, theyre
a little slow.
ANNE KATES SMITH IS A SENIOR EDITOR AT KIPLINGERS
PERSONAL FINANCE MAGAZINE.

LISE METZGER

omething to think about while holiday

shopping: When it comes to buying,
your subconscious mind makes the
decision several seconds before your
conscious mind is aware of it. In other words,
your emotional self does the buying. Your
rational self, well, rationalizes. The unconscious mind decides on the red convertible. The rational mind seeks to explain the
decision in terms of good gas mileage, says
Roger Dooley, author of Brainfluence: 100
Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers
with Neuromarketing.
Neuromarketers attempt to peer inside
our heads to find out what drives a purchase decision. Tools of the trade include
eye-tracking technology, electroencephalograms to measure electrical activity in the
brain, and functional magnetic resonance
imaging, tracking blood flow in the brain
to detect areas of activity. But much of the
science merely confirms what marketers,
advertisers and retailers have known forever: Buyers arent convinced; theyre wooed.
Youre entering a zone of seduction as soon
as you enter the department store, and the
only purpose is to get you to buy more,
says branding guru Martin Lindstrom.
He says the process starts as soon as you
walk past the display window. Mannequins
never look straight out to the street; they
look left or right, the better to make eye
contact with you as you walk by. Without
realizing it, you feel obliged to stop.
Retailers know that your sense of smell is
a powerful subconscious motivator. It can
trigger cravings, memories or associations
that make us linger in a store and influence
us to buy. According to the Scent Marketing
Institute, were likely to browse longer in
stores with floral or citrus scents, to feel
secure and nostalgic when we smell talcum
powder, and to feel relaxed when the scent
of lavender or vanilla is wafting. Each piece
of department store clothing is tried on an
average of nine times, says Lindstrom. So a
fresh lemon or grassy scent in the dressing

Copyright of Kiplinger's Personal Finance is the property of Kiplinger Washington Editors

Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv
without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print,
download, or email articles for individual use.