In daily life, there are many things that make use of people’s emotions. Marketing is one representative that needs people’s sympathy to make benefit. For example, not only the display but also the pamphlet, placement of the guide sign, entrance or exit, elevator or escalator, window, wall, and counter are designed to make a profit.
Paco Underhill, a founder of a market research and consulting company called Envirosell, did retail marketing research and used ethnomethodology to study people’s shopping habits and came up with two principles for shopping science. First, retail environment should be adjusted to general human characteristics. People have common features like two arms, and their hands are 90cm above the ground when they stand. A shop should be designed with this in mind. It is already applied in many shops that display at eye level and close to the height of hand. Second, humans are unique. Even if there is a guide sign, whether each passenger sees it or not is dependent on personal taste. Therefore, Paco claims that a retail environment should be adjusted to diverse tastes. Three years ago, he came to Seoul and commented about a hotel coffee shop. “People on Monday morning may show different characters from people in the evening. So if you analyze them, it is very helpful to turn on different music for different periods. This causes people to stay longer in your store. This is a free and useful way of marketing. Here the ceiling is high, but the lower the ceiling is, the more friendly people feel so they will order more drinks.”
Science has hidden power in shopping strategy. For instance, imagine that there are two plates of potatoes and one at the beginning of a food line, while the other is at the end of the line. According to Paco’s research, the later one is sold more because people skip potatoes on the start point, agonizing whether to eat or not before picking the main dish. In the department store, there are many mirrors and glasses, which make people see. Both their appearance and products next to the mirrors are reflected on unconsciously. That is a very important attracting method because in front of mirrors people walk more slowly and look around the shop.
The display of main products is related to people’s habits. In England and Australia where walking on the left is common, bargains are on the left side. Also, right-handed people see right first than left and pick with right hand frequently. Because of those habits, U.S. department stores always display products slightly on the right side. Korea also places the most important products on the right of entrance. In the basement floor, popular grocery is laid along the edge of floor, starting from fruits, vegetables on the right edge, meat, and fish to soft drink on the left edge. Afraid customers may only shop along the edge, marketers place free samples inside to direct shoppers’ eyes inward.
Marketing is tricking shoppers to purchase more and more. There is a science and psychology in marketing that appeals to emotion and impulsive shopping. Marketing is not avoidable, but customers need to shop according to their will. It is okay to reference some marketing to compare their products but don’t purchase on impulse.