Daily Life

Why we buy

Neuroeconomics and brain scanning technology is uncovering the science behind shopping.

The ritual of the payday purchase is one with which most women are familiar.

For insurance client manager Laura Ulrick, 30, from north-west Sydney, it's a familiar routine.

“As soon as I get paid, I'm on Pitt Street with a purse full of cash and a 30-minute lunch break to spend.”

Ulrick, who is paid fortnightly, buys at least one new work or weekend outfit each pay.

“I realise stores are designed to encourage me to purchase, but I don't care about going in with my own plan. Shopping itself can be tedious, but it is a great feeling when you walk out of a store with a fresh purchase. That's the reward.”

While the practice might be primitive, the science of shopping is a sophisticated business. Neuroscientists are using brain imaging to gain insight into how people make decisions, including what we buy.


They have discovered that emotion and value are handled by the same part of the brain, with researchers from Duke University determining that this shared link makes us more likely to impulsively buy things, even if we don't need them or can't afford them.

Dr Phil Harris, an honorary fellow at the University of Melbourne's faculty of business and economics and head of neuromarketing company Nurobrand explains: “People face choices every day between immediate impulses and long-term goals (think of dieting, giving up smoking, or impulse buying on the credit card). There's a lot of interest in these choices in neuroeconomics – one explanation is that we tend to put a greater value on things in the present than we do in the future – the result is that future costs of our actions tend to be outweighed by immediate benefits. This explains why resisting temptation is so hard. One trick appears to be projecting oneself into the future – the more we can imagine ourselves in that future point in time when the implications will occur, the more value we assign to that outcome and the more likely we are to hold off from the tempting option,” he says.

Big brands and stores have a plan, so you should too. Here are four shopping secrets retailers won't tell you.

To the left, to the left: Retail shopping studies have found most people turn right when entering a store as the majority of the population is right-handed. Retailers therefore place tempting new items and trends to the right of the entrance, where the music is louder, displays brighter and most expensive items displayed. Shop from left to right or from the back (where clearance items are stocked) to the front of the store to retrain your brain into determining need over want. Write a monthly shopping budget to make you think twice when tempted by impulse buys and stash cash in an envelope specifically for that purpose. When the envelope is empty, stop spending.

Settle into the sale rack: It's really hard to conquer the clearance area in some stores because it's actually designed to make you not want to spend time there. Retailers purposely create the frustration of the poorly marked and poorly organised sale racks to tempt you towards the perfectly displayed and organised full-price merchandise. To save in the sales, give yourself time. Never shop when rushed as this leads to rash decisions and unnecessary purchases.

From in store to online: Promotions are designed to tempt you into shopping more often and spending more. Ask is this really a bargain? Use your smart phone to check competitor prices when in store or even buy online. “Showrooming”, where shoppers examine products in stores and then make their purchase online, is on the rise, as prices are likely to be more competitive.

Choose your friends wisely: Different people have different shopping personalities so be selective when choosing a shopping partner. Take someone who can balance your impulsiveness with their perseverance or vice versa.


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