These are the secrets shops use to make you buy more… from mannequin spies to the pattern of the floor
If you've ever felt like you're being watched while you're wandering around a shop it might be because you are
WE all know that shops are good at getting us to spend money in-store but do you know exactly how they do it?
From using hidden cameras to track your spending habits to designing floor patterns that slow the pace we browse at, these are the sneaky tricks shops use to keep us spending.
Mannequin Spies
If you've ever felt like you're being watched whilst wandering around a shop, it might be because you are.
Some stores have started installing hidden mannequin cameras to monitor customers' spending habits and read their reactions as they mooch around.
The cameras, which have the added purpose of keeping an eye on thieves, let store bosses clock your facial expressions and movements as you browse.
The technology can even alert staff when you look like you could do with a hand.
More sophisticated tech can also pick up pupil dilation and keep an eye on your heart rate while you're shopping.
Stores hope that this discreet monitoring can cut out the faff of interviewing shoppers and conducting focus groups to work out which products are most popular.
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Floor fool you
Ever looked down in a supermarket and noticed striped patterns on the floor?
These are a deliberate addition to the store's decor which can control how quickly we walk through the shop.
Research has revealed that taping lines across the floor can have the effect of slowing customers' walking speed, which in turn prompts them to spend more money in the shop.
By taping evenly-spaced lines on the floor, customers are prompted to view the markers as representing their progress towards reaching a goal - in this case, reaching the end of the aisle.
And when lines are closer together, customers are more likely to pace themselves and spend more time browsing.
And it's not just lines which can do the trick - different coloured tiles could potentially serve the same purpose, so long as they're evenly spaced out and obvious enough for our subconscious to pick up on.
The colour of money
Shops also put loads of thought into the colour schemes which are used in-store.
On the outside shops will try to draw you in with warm colours, like reds, oranges and yellows.
But once you're in you can expect to be greeted by cooler colours like blues and greens.
this change in the colour scheme subconsciously encourages you to feel welcome and spend more money.
Songs of graze
The music shops play in-store is also a very deliberate choice to change your spending habits.
Slower music encourages you to slow down and shop at your leisure.
Having a quiet, slow soundtrack to your shop also keeps you relaxed and makes it.
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As an example, Victoria's Secret uses a deliberately soothing soundtrack in their stores, which has been chosen to facilitate customers' chats with sales staff.
Muddling through
Clothes shops have another sneaky trick to get you spending.
Display tables piled high with clothes will be deliberately muddled up to make it look like more people have been rifling through them.
The more popular a product appears, the more desirable people will assume it is.
A whiff of genius
Shops always try to blast us with the full-on sensory experience - and this includes pumping stores full of carefully-chosen smells.
Simple but pleasant smells, which don't take much brainpower to process, have been to increase how much you spend by a whopping 20 per cent.
Pine and citrus are popular choices to get customers spending, whilst other shops use smells which you'd associate with a certain memory.
Chains will also always make sure every one of their shops smells the same, so they can build up a distinct brand identity.
For example, Hugo Boss is known for pumping their stores with a familiar, slightly musky scent with hints of citrus.
This smell has been deliberately designed to appeal to both men and women, and has helped the brand carve out its own unique identity.
The eyes have it
A lot of thought goes in to where products are placed in shops.
And the oldest trick in the book is all about controlling what you're looking at as you browse.
Anything the store really wants you to buy (usually the most expensive items) are placed conveniently at eye level so you clock them first.
If you check the aisles above and below, you'll probably find similar products at lower prices.
Likewise, anything your kids will nag you to buy are more likely to be at a child's eye level.
Location, location, location
Supermarkets also place a lot of emphasis on where in the shop you can find what you're looking for.
By placing essentials, like milk and eggs, furthest from the door, they force you to traipse through the whole shop - past everything else they're selling - looking for them.
And it's not just supermarkets which do this - like many popular retailers, Apple stores are meticulously designed to encourage browsing.
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