Thrifty Pages

Spending too long in the shops? Wonder why?

"The amount of time a shopper spends in a store (assuming he or she is shopping, not waiting in line) is perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much she or he will buy. Over and over again, our studies have shown a direct relationship. ... The majority of advice we give to retailers involves ways of getting shoppers to shop longer."

Paco Underhill, Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping

Photo by ralphbiker

Paco Underhill is an environmental psychologist and works with his company Envirosell to help the retail industry sell more by using "traditional market research techniques, anthropological observation methodologies and videotaping".

His book Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping is essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about why  we behave the way we do in supermarkets.

The Envirosell website contains some interesting case studies to help you understand how sophisticated this research actually is. Next time you wonder why you lost track of time in the supermarket, consider the amount of money that may have be spent to keep you there.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb - What is a "Black Swan"?

A few interesting links about Nassim Taleb

This man predicted the credit crunch. In his book, 'The Black Swan' he says

Globalization creates interlocking fragility, while reducing volatility and giving the appearance of stability. In other words it creates devastating Black Swans. We have never lived before under the threat of a global collapse. Financial Institutions have been merging into a smaller number of very large banks. Almost all banks are interrelated. So the financial ecology is swelling into gigantic, incestuous, bureaucratic banks – when one fails, they all fall.

A great Sunday Times article about him, with an interview -  Nassim Nicholas Taleb: the prophet of boom and doom

A video explaining 'Black Swans'.