How Retail Stores Manipulate You

HELLO FRIENDS!! a bit of an experimental video here, but i hope you guys like it...

Have you ever wondered why you always get lost in IKEA? Or why you can't leave Sephora without a hand full of lipstick swatches? Or why you just love hanging out at Target? I was curious... so I decided to do some research on how different retail stores manipulate you into spending more time at their stores, interacting with their products more, and therefore, spending more of you hard earned cash at their shops. We explored different tactics that Ikea, Target, Sephora, and Ulta use to lure customers in & keep them there until they make a purchase! This is the first of a 3-part series we're gonna be working on throughout the year!

This video is NOT sponsored!!

MUSIC
Via AudioNetwork

WRITTEN by
Rachel Faulkner
Safiya Nygaard

PRODUCED & EDITED by
Safiya Nygaard
Tyler Williams
Dayana Espinoza
Jarvis Rooker

GFX by Dayana Espinoza

Other sources:
Remus, Emily. “Disruptive Shopping: Women, Space, and Capitalism.” The American Historian, The Organization of American Historians
Segran, Elizabeth. “Department Stores Were the Original Retail Startups. Now They're Headed for the Grave.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 1 May 2020.
Glancey, Jonathan. “A History of the Department Store.” BBC News, BBC
Mitchelson, Alana. “Why Is IKEA like a Maze? We Ask Its Design Boss.” The New Daily, 28 Aug. 2018
Ringen, Jonathan. “IKEA's Big Bet on Meatballs.” Fast Company, 10 Oct. 2017
Lubin, Gus. “Why Shopping at IKEA Is a Magical Experience like Nothing in the World.” Business Insider, 16 Jan. 2014
Waters, Carlos. “How Ikea Mastered the Gruen Effect.” Vox, 17 Oct. 2018
Collins, Lauren. “House Perfect.” The New Yorker, 26 Sept. 2011
Clifford, Catherine. “Meatballs and DIY Bookcases: The Psychology behind IKEA's Iconic Success.” CNBC, 5 Oct. 2019
Goldstein, Jacob. “'As Long as There's Human Life on Earth, a Strong IKEA Has Its Worth'.” NPR, 26 Sept. 2011
Jansson-Boyd, Cathrine. “How Ikea's Shop Layout Influences What You Buy.” BBC Worklife, BBC, 31 Jan. 202
Rosmarin, Remi. “A Study Breaks down Who Has the Best Prices between Amazon, Target, and Walmart in 5 Different Categories - Here's Where to Shop for What.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 31 July 2019
“Target Reveals Design Elements of Next Generation of Stores.” Target Corporate, 20 Mar. 2017
Bourg Carter, Sherrie. “Why Mess Causes Stress: 8 Reasons, 8 Remedies.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 14 Mar. 2012
Mead, Taylor. “Experts Confirm That It's Nearly Impossible to Buy One Thing at Target – Here's Why.” House Beautiful, House Beautiful, 20 Aug. 2018
McGrath, Lauren. “The Creepy Science behind Why You Love Target so Much.” Philadelphia Magazine, 23 June 2016,
Young, Sarah. “A Consumer Psychologist Explains Why Every Beauty Shop Looks the Same.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 17 Nov. 2016
Thomas, Ellen. “How Ulta Is Resetting the Mass Beauty Shopping Experience.” WWD, 23 Mar. 2018
Brown, Rachel. “Erwin Winkler Talks Ulta Beauty's New Face.” WWD, 5 Aug. 2015
Gregory, Sean. “Want to Save Some Money? Shop without Touching.” Time, Time Inc., 3 Apr. 2009
Jaffe, Eric. “An Evolutionary Theory for Why You Love Glossy Things.” Fast Company, 21 Jan. 2014.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
02:05 History Of Retail
4:55 Manipulated by Ikea
11:33 The Target Effect
16:58 Sephora & Ulta Get Their Revenge
22:30 Outro
23:32 Child Melts Down At Ikea

[safiya]

HELLO FRIENDS!!! ok this is a little bit of an experimental format for us, but we hope you guys like it - leave us a like & a comment if you'd like to see more videos like this! we saw a video from the Food Theorists where they discussed how grocery stores pump the smell of rotisserie chicken throughout the store to get you hungrier and more likely to buy more things, and wondered what other stores do this type of thing... have you ever caught one of these (or other) retail stores trying to ~manipulate~ you into buying more stuff? let us know in the comments below what other manipulation you've witnessed! xoxo, saf

[peach]

luckily for me, I have a foolproof protection against these clever tactics meant to make me spend money. it's called not having any money

[lianarosa]

This is basically everything I learned to get a bachelors in marketing summed up in a 23 minute video. Iconic.

[wylde]

When I lived closer to an ikea, I would listen to an audiobook and walk the store like it was a line at Disney land. I love the dreamy sense of disassociation that really helped me to pay attention to the book. I could sit on a couch or do homework after…. Eat food and leave with my class work and exercise done. It’s a good way to spend a rainy afternoon

[foreverhilaryy]

You forgot to mention that target has cup holders in their carts. Encouraging you to grab Starbucks and browse slower.

[coral]

No wonder shopping is so overstimulating for us neurospicy folks. Absolutely draining

[charlotteroach]

safiya has really been hitting it out of the park lately with interesting and varied content, everything since colonial williamsburg ive been like “this is different but makes perfect sense for this channel, very excited to see it”

[DimiSantaCruz]

IKEA for me does the opposite, I get so overwhelmed that I don’t buy anything

[xXAlexOrWhateverXx]

I went to college for graphic design. We had an entire unit about this kind of stuff. Afterwards, I found myself recognizing these patterns and avoiding them. I’ve saved a lot of money. Lol

[safiyaandtyler]

Checking in from Las Vegas - we are currently being subjected to all of these tactics at once 🕺

[Anniekinsxo]

When I worked in retail, our rule of thumb was “eye level is buy level” . So hot ticket items were always eye level

[DarlingbroughModelRailway]

One more trick stores (supermarkets in particular) use is to change the layout of the store on a fairly regular basis... This prevents you from walking directly to the products you want/need as you suddenly don't know where they are, making you spend longer in store looking for them, and making you more likely to pick up additional items...

[UncommonCommander]

I paused the video as my two year old daughter walked by me so I could say hi to her. She looked over my shoulder and shouted "TARGET!" with joy. She was right. When a two year old kid immediately recognizes the inside of your store, you've got your brand nailed.

[ilener]

I feel like Marshall’s and home goods should have been added to this study. They have that treasure hunt design that works like a charm.

[melodys]

My husband watched this with me and he turns to me and he goes. “Today I learned that you and I have an incredible amount of self control when it comes to shopping.”

[chrlszly]

I remember visiting IKEA, I spent 90% of my time there trying to leave .

[brittney]

In places like Ulta and Sephora, I always pick out what I want online first and then buy it in the store. I never go in and just browse. It is too much going in Ulta, too many products to look through. Sephora is super expensive, so I already have my mind made up before I even enter the store. I rarely get anything extra from either places. I am completely obsessed with Target and I ALWAYS end up buying more.

[Raula.]

Another interesting fact: I’ve learned in Uni about a psychological effect that when you create or build something yourself you will enjoy and appreciate it more, because you’ve put work into it. So Ikea letting you build your furniture yourself is even more genius because it not only saves them a lot of money but makes you like the furniture even more!

[reese_rhyser]

COSTCO is one of the most obvious of the manipulators. It's simple: move products around so customers have to 'shop' around looking for what used to be in 'that spot' but now it's not. Brilliant!!

[humanbeing]

IKEA is one of the only places where i am very happy to be manipulated.