Retailers know exactly why. They've got a bunch of scientists on their side called retail anthropologists who study what, why and when we buy.

This science of shopping was started by an enterprising fellow named Paco Underhill who founded a retail consulting company called Envirosell. They set up video cameras in shops then spent days watching how people shop.... and the results are fascinating.

Underhill was inspired by researcher William Whyte, who was famous for his work "The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces". Whyte wondered why some public parks were more popular than others and came to the conclusion that a successful park had plenty of places to sit, and that people sitting or walking in that park attracted other people. This theory makes sense...think about seeing an empty restaurant. You'd wonder what was wrong with it and be reluctant to enter.

The layout of a supermarket is no accident. Stores are divided into zones so the fresh veggies are on one side, meat on another and milk is usually down the back. You need to do a tour of duty before you get to the checkout, making it hard to resist all those goodies in between!

Some takeaway stores encourage high turnover by having uncomfortable seats and gaudy decor that adults hate and kids don't mind. But many companies pay big money to find out why their customers won't stay.

Underhill's studies found that men's shops are laid out in a no-fuss way with the pants, ties and belts right next to each other. Apparently men need help with selecting garments and will quite often buy an entire ensemble from the one shop, whereas women will select and match accessories themselves.

A big turn off is what Underhill calls the 'butt brush' - women hate being brushed or jostled from behind, so narrow aisles are a big no-no.

Cars take a little while to slow down when approaching traffic lights or a corner. Underhill found that we also "gear down" when we enter a shop and he advises stores to have a 'decompression zone' near the entrance. Retailers are told not to put any big specials or items of value in this zone because we will ignore it. He also warns retailers not to be near a bank, as shoppers speed up when they walk past a bank because there's nothing to look at.

And our dining habits are scrutinised too. Cigarettes gave you something to do if you were alone in a restaurant waiting for a friend to show up. Now, tent cards are a godsend for solo table-sitters. According to Nation's Restaurant News, "The lonely table tent card is an option of detailed stimulus for those customers who seek it. For the fast-food customer dining alone, the tent card has become a friend, much like the back of a cereal box." Yikes!

Here are some interesting observations on the science of shopping:
*When shoppers enter a store, they will almost without exception go to the right. That makes the front, right side of the store the perfect spot for those high-margin items that can make or break a business.
*Shoppers have a threshold for waiting in line of two and a half minutes. Go beyond that and you risk losing a customer.
*A retail psychologist has found that women shoppers subconsciously compare melons to the size of their breasts and reject those deemed excessive. This prompted British supermarket chain, Tesco, to stock smaller melons!

It's downright creepy knowing there's a video camera recording your every move, and a bunch of white coats with clipboards furiously scribbling notes while viewing footage of you examining your bottom in a changing room mirror.

While they're so busy examining us, I'd like to hand over some advice to them:
1. Stop any discussions between checkout people on how drunk they got on the weekend.
2. Give customers a free session with a chiropractor after trying to drag shopping carts around the store

BodytalkMagazine.com