Between now and January 1, we'll spend $602 billion shopping for the holidays, according to statistics from the National Retail Federation. But America's malls and department stores would like to see you shell out even more.
To that end, retailers have a host of subtle psychological tricks at their disposal--many seemingly innocuous or downright helpful--taking advantage of all the latest scientific research on the shopper's brain. So before you line up for a Black Friday spending spree, or make an online purchase on Cyber Monday, find out how stores are squeezing more pennies from your pocket--and how you can fight back:
1. Hands-On Service
You approach a sales clerk and ask them for help finding something specific. They not only walk you directly to the thing you're looking for, but take it off the rack and place it right into your hands. Is that simply great service, or something more insidious? As it turns out, a 2009 study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that when people touched an item, it made them feel like they already owned it, and increased the price they were willing to pay to take it home.
Your defense: Instead of letting the clerk focus your attention on one product as you're trying it out, be sure to handle multiple items so you don't start to feel ownership from just one.
2. Customer Stalking
Last year Americans spent over $1 billion in online purchases over Thanksgiving weekend--and more than doubled that amount on Cyber Monday alone, according to digital analyst comScore. But be warned: An analysis by The Wall Street Journal found that stores track your clicks online, and use that information to make you pay a different price than your neighbors one town over. Plus, retailers boost prices on items they think you really want if you visit their website more than once.
Your defense: Install a privacy-protecting browser add-on like Ghostery, which blocks traffic from third-party analytics. "More than simply blocking cookies, it keeps those sites from knowing you were ever there, preventing them from building a profile on you as you browse from site to site," says Andy Kahl, director of data analysis at Evidon, the parent company of Ghostery. Be sure to block both "advertising" and "beacons" in the settings menu.
3. Loud Music
Holiday shopping means Christmas music piped through the speakers, which isn't much of an improvement over the generic dance club tracks typically played in clothing boutiques. Either way, that cacophony can make you more likely to plunk down dough, especially if you're buying a trendy item. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that when people had to choose between ordinary running shoes and a pair with a radical new design, they were more likely to pick the "innovative" product than the traditional one if the sound level was around 70 decibels--like standing near a busy highway--compared to a quiet room. That's because a moderate level of noise actually tends to help your brain be more creative, which makes you more likely to buy a new and revolutionary-looking product.
Your defense: Seek out quieter stores, shop during less busy weekdays where you can judge a potential gift in peace, or bring earbuds and listen to your own mellow music to combat the trick.
4. Distracting Announcements
In-store announcements about Santa's visit or mysterious calls for security--hint: it's a fake-out to deter shoplifters--can influence how you buy. For example, researchers in Hong Kong had people shop for two hotel rooms set side-by-side on a computer screen. When a short news bulletin was played on a speaker to the shoppers' right, they picked the hotel room on the right side of the screen 69 percent of the time, compared to a 51-49 split between right and left rooms when no sound was played. The psychologists determined that when your attention is turned in the direction of the sound, your brain feels like it has more thoroughly processed the choice on that side, which makes you more likely to prefer that item.
Your defense: Stay alert for for announcements, screaming kids, and other sudden sounds that might be affecting your decisions. You could even switch the items between your hands so you're sure one side isn't dominating.
5. Subliminal Messages
Even Don Draper isn't this clever: Researchers at the University of Miami recently found that hearing words that sound like other phrases--"goodbye" is similar to "good buy," for example--subconsciously plants that second idea in your head. In the study, after people read a passage that ended with "bye bye," they were willing to spend $45 at a new restaurant--but if they read "so long" they only wanted to spend $30. Although the study is new, marketing execs have already been using this technique. "The weight-loss drug 'Alli' is a made-up word but it's possible firms chose this name so consumers would see the firm as their 'Ally' in weight loss," says study author Derick Davis, Ph.D.
Your defense: Browsing in stores and online is part of learning about products, but make decisions at home--and away from your computer. "You'll have more cognitive resources, time, and are free from other manipulations," says Davis.
6. Center Displays
Stores have been placing big profit-margin items at eye level for some time, since that's the first place you're likely to look. What's more, a Canadian study tracked the eye movements of shoppers and found that in the last 5 seconds before they made a decision, their eyes came to rest in the center of a row of items--instead of to the left or right. That subconsciously influenced the shoppers to pick products from the middle without realizing it.
Your defense: The researchers suggest making sure you carefully scan across a wide selection of choices, forcing yourself to take a long look at products at the far ends of a display.
7. "Slashed" Prices
Black Friday deals are known for their deep discounts, but it's hardly because they're feeling the holiday spirit of generosity. In fact, a new study from the University of Colorado found that if stores can get you to focus on the original full price of the item with big signs or highlighting the percentage off, you're more likely to think the cut rate is a better deal--even if that's still more expensive than a similar competitor. And sometimes they'll even boost the original cost to make the sale look better. "Laws on this practice vary from state to state, and firms push the boundaries as far as they can since it's hard to enforce," says study author Christina Kan.
Your defense: Comparison shop at other stores, says Kan. Pay attention to not just the sale price, but also what the store claims to be the original retail value.
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