Have you ever gone to the store just for milk, but walked out with eight sale-priced cans of something you’d never tasted and eight candy bars? How does that happen?

 

　　Brian Wansink and colleagues have studied how people make decisions in stores. The results are interesting not only for merchandisers hoping to increase sales, but customers trying to resist the temptation.

 

　　One way stores increase sales is that standby of merchandising, the multiple unit price. That’s when a sign lists the price for several items, instead of one, say, 4 cans for $4. Of course, you could buy one, but it’s hard to resist the suggestion to buy more. Wansink found that multiple unit pricing increased sales by almost a third.

 

　　Here’s an even more astounding technique. When Wansink put up a sign that said, “Buy Snickers Bars for your Freezer,” people tended to buy one. Next though, he changed the sign to read, “Buy 18 Snickers Bars for Your Freezer.” It probably sounded ridiculous to customers too, but they tripled their purchases to three candy bars, on average.

 

　　The limit sign is another trick of the numbers that increases sales, even though stores usually intend it to do just the opposite. Let’s say soup is marked way down, to bring in customers. The addition of a sign limiting purchase to 12 cans had a dramatic effect in Wansink’s study, increasing sales by 112%!

 

　　To resist the power of supermarket suggestion, write a grocery list at home, including how much you need. At the store, remember how the numbers games work!

 

 

　　超市的数字把戏

 

　　你遇到过这种情况吗：当你走进商场时，你只是想买一瓶牛奶，但当你走出超市时，你手上拿着八罐你从未尝过的打折商品，以及八条糖果。怎么会这样呢？

 

　　伊利诺斯大学食品与商标研究所的Brian Wansink博士研究了人们在商场里是如何作出购买决定的。研究结果无论是对想提高营业额的商家，还是对想要抵抗诱惑的消费者来说都十分有趣。

 

　　商场提升营业额的一种方法就是“备用促销”，即多件商品组合标价。该销售模式下，一个标签上会有多件商品的总价，比如说“4美元4罐”。你当然可以只买一罐，但你很难抵抗“再多买一点”的心理暗示。Wansink博士发现该销售策略能使营业额提高近三分之一。

 

　　还有一种更令人张口结舌的方法。Wansink博士首先打出一条标语：“为您的冰箱添置一些士力架吧！”这时人们往往会买一条。然而接下来，他将标语换成“为您的冰箱添置18条士力架吧！”这也许对顾客而言，也荒谬不已 ，但顾客们的平均购买量却增加到三根。

 

　　而限制购买的标语则是商场增加营业额的另一个常用伎俩，尽管商家的本意是完全与之相反的 。比如，商场正通过大幅调低汤罐头价格以招徕顾客。而Wansink的研究发现，一条”限购12罐”的标语能起到惊人的作用：使营业额激增112%！

 

　　如果你想抵抗超市的心理暗示的话，最好在家中就列好购物单，包括你所需要的量。当你在超市里时，千万记住商家们是如何玩弄数字游戏的。