Studies show how to be better consumers

Chicago Tribune:

Would you pay 50 percent more for “organic” firewood? Would you be more willing to buy a used refrigerator if it had an “attractive enamel-coated ferromagnetic exterior?” Would you be more likely to buy juice from a server with a British accent?

Of course, all firewood is organic, magnets stick to many refrigerators, and the desire for juice should be unrelated to a seller’s accent. Still, we consumers are not always rational and can be tricked by sellers. We sometimes open our wallets for marketing gimmicks like these examples from a message board posting on Reddit.com.

There’s a whole area of academic study about consumer behavior that examines not what we buy, but why. Some findings lend insights into our own buying habits. Recognizing them in ourselves just might help us become better consumers.

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