Supermarket shopping carts (trolleys) tend to have horizontal handles – would people buy more things if the handles were parallel – like a wheelbarrow? New research from City University of London and the University of Innsbruck suggest that the answer could be ‘yes’. In an experimental study : “supermarket shoppers purchased more products and spent […]
Tag: shopping
Shopping – more like gathering than hunting? (study)
If you’re the type who enjoys (or otherwise takes advantage of) the January sales, you might be interested in taking a look at the work of professor Daniel J. Kruger of University of Michigan [pictured]. A news release from the university (2009) related Dr. Kruger’s take on the subject of shopping, saying : “- it’s […]
Headless mannequins – good for business (or not)?
Mannequins in shop windows – should they have heads, or shouldn’t they? And what about mannequins displayed online? From a retailer’s point of view, the question of whether to use headed or headless mannequins is a complex one – or rather, the answers are complex. And now, for the first time, such answers can be […]
How waiting in line is like war
A defense researcher analyzes (1) customer satisfaction in a shopping scenario and (2) the efficient use of warplanes in battle. He comes up with a mathematical model common to both—in which “[the] parameter of principal interest is the expected customer-survival rate.” Here’s his paper on how the two relate: “Queuing with Impatient Customers and Indifferent Clerks,” […]