6 tricks that malls use to make you buy MORE

On a lazy Sunday evening I decided to make a trip to the mall which had opened at distance of a kilometre from my apartment.

Since my roommate had been raving about this new mammoth mall, I went just with the intention of finding out if it is worth the praise and the attention.

I stopped by at the ATM and withdrew a wad of cash, full of crisp Rs 100 notes. A quick back of the envelope calculation and I realised that the money was enough to last me for ten days.

Few hours later, as I walked out of the mall laden with shopping bags I realised that my bulging wallet had shed a lot of its weight. This sudden urge to splurge forced me to hit the rewind button and find out what ushered me into indulging in this unplanned retail therapy.

So after paying a heavy price, here is a list of six things that I learnt about how the mall environment can encourage you to buy more.

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Dress to kill

Walk into a mall and you will have the likes of Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Guess, and Marks & Spencer sprawled across the ground floor.

This is because most of the impulsive buying happens on the ground floor and therefore all the big brands vie to occupy that space.

Also, if you take a tour of the ground floor you will realise that it typically houses brands that stock goods for both men and women. This is to entice the man too who is most of the times forcibly dragged into the store.

Even in stores that stack unisex apparel, the men's section is generally on the ground floor. Ask yourself why? Well, that is because unlike men, women are generally ready to climb several flights of stairs to find the matching top for the skirt they bought last summer!

So, if shopping is not your agenda, then take the escalator straight away.

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Teeming it up

But if you stayed on the ground floor and have raided the apparel section then let's turn attention to the cosmetic and accessory counter.

Enter a store and you will have expensive watches, belts, matching lipsticks and dangling earrings staring at you. They are at the start of the store. So even if you skirt your way through when you enter, they are there to tempt you again at the time of exit.

This is because accessories are believed to have the highest profit margins and therefore store owners strategically place the counters at the start. 

Also, accessories such as watches are considered to top the list of gift items which are mostly impulsive bought. Another reason why owners want to be doubly sure you don't miss it!

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The power of smell

Martin Lindstrom, brand guru and author of Buy.ology: How Everything We Believe About Why We Buy is Wrong, says, 'Smell and sound are substantially more potent than anyone had even dreamed of.'

The stimulating smell in a mall aims to usher you into a relaxed state and helps in creating an enticing and interesting retail environment.

The power of smell uplifts the whole retail therapy experience coaxing you into buying more, even without you being aware of it.

As Lindstrom says, 'All of our other senses, you think before you respond, but with scent, your brain responds before you think.'

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Stocking up the kitchen

So as you enter the supermarket, you invariably drag a shopping cart even if you intend to buy only two items.

The shopping cart which is there at the entrance acts as a bottomless pit encouraging you to toss more things into it. So in a way even before you have started shopping your list has increased.

Now as you cruise around, you will notice how the expensive variants of chocolates, wafers and biscuits are placed right at your eye level. Meanwhile, their less expensive cousins are stashed away on the lower shelf. This is so that you notice the costly items first and throw them straight into the trolley.

As you will walk a little further to the grocery section, you are likely to notice the in-house brands of retailers prominently displayed.

Not only that, but they will also be placed next to brands which command double the price for the same item. And since all of us like to count ourselves as bargain hunters we will automatically grab the cheaper in-house product and walk away feeling happy.

The catch here is that if you had walked down the aisle, you are likely to spot goods at half the price of in-house brands. But earlier the comparative pricing at play led you to believe that you have already landed yourself the best deal and therefore you never checked further.

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Joy of the four-letter word

The four-letter word 'SALE' gives one an adrenaline rush. The fact that you managed to buy something at half its original price seems like an achievement.

This is the reason why words like 'sale' and 'limited offer' are believed to have almost an unmatched magnetic attraction.|

There are times when you are fully aware that the sale is likely to last a month more, but still the fear of losing on it makes you loosen your purse strings then and there without any debate.

On the other hand, there are instances when you have a faint idea that the price of the article on 'discount' has actually been hiked to give the customer an illusion of a bigger saving. But the love for sale defeats logic!

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Don't blame the architect

Is it that on your last visit to the mall, you were quick to blame the architect for the distance between two escalators? Well, it is not faulty design but a smart trick to lure you into buying more.

The distance between two escalators ensures that you walk the extra few steps. This exercise doubles up the chances of you stopping by a store and may be even coming out with a packet and a bill!

The same logic holds true for food courts. Most people come to the mall to grab a quick bite. But since the food courts are sprawled strictly across the top floor, one ends up taking a tour of the entire mall.

This doubles up the chances of impulsive buying and tries to ensure that you reach the food court with at least a packet or two.

Even in the super markets the entry and exit are at other ends. The reason is the same: a full tour of the store is on offer.

So the next time you go shopping, remember these points and they can help you change your shopping experience and leave you with guilt-free trips to the mall.

The author can be reached at shonalee.biswas@rediffmail.com

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