The Brain Sell

There are two ways of shopping: Going shopping and doing shopping.

Shopping: it’s a pretty simple task, right? You need something, you have the money for it, you buy it. Yet for decades, psychologists, neuroscientists and behavioral analysts have all studied the way we shop, and they’ve all drawn the same conclusion: it’s not as simple as we think it is.

For starters, did you know that there are two types of shopper? Those who go shopping and those who do shopping. What kind are you?

Some of us go shopping. We do it to have fun, to experience brands, service and entertainment. We welcome shopping as a chance not just to gain new possessions, but to enjoy a break from the daily grind amid the bustling crowd. Going shopping is, in general, highly pleasurable, and not at all something we need to do.

On the other hand, there are those who do shopping, and regard it as a chore. If someone tells you they’ve got to “do the shopping,” you know that they’ll be buying things they absolutely need, but don’t necessarily want. They may even treat the experience as a necessary evil to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible. They certainly don’t enjoy the experience.

When you do the shopping you’re like a one-person SWAT team rescuing a hostage. You rush in, grab the hostage (or, in this case, the milk, toilet paper and cat food) and get out ASAP.

Conversely, those who go shopping linger in the store and admire the products, and are therefore naturally beloved of advertisers, manufacturers and retailers. These are the people you should attract to your brand. How? The next blinks reveal all.