All We Want for Christmas?
Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Illustration by Elisa Glass
With the holiday shopping frenzy upon us, it can make heading to the mall to buy a tie for Uncle Kevin a daunting task. Martin Lindstrom, the author of “Buyology: Truth And Lies About What We Buy,” shares his insights on what the retailers are doing to entice shoppers and how to make your list, check it twice—and stick to it.
—Lorin Drinkard
Is BOGO a bogus deal? Most of the time. “How often do you really need two t-shirts, two bags or whatever you’re required to buy to get a second product? Rarely, if not never.”
Designed to sell. “Products placed at low levels target kids, products in the middle are bestsellers, and products high up are selling the least.”
Time for a babysitter. “Don’t bring your kids with you. They make you spend up to 26 percent more.”
Eat a sample, buy more. “Remember, once you eat or drink one, you activate your senses, generate hunger and craving, and, as a result, begin to buy more.”
Beware the Tunes. “Music establishes a sense of ‘oasis.’ [So] we tend to respond by buying stuff linked with the songs—like the ‘special Christmas offers.’”
Limited-time offers? “Even though stores claim the sale only lasts to a certain day, rest assured it will continue.”
Colloquially Speaking…
Boo-tiquing [boo-teek-king]
v.t., the process of dragging your significant other, usually male, through a marathon shopping day spent in the Northern Virginia area’s mostly female-friendly boutiques; as in ‘”boo,” a pet name for a boyfriend or girlfriend
From the French word for “small shop,” according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a “boutique” often refers to a “small shop selling fashionable clothes or accessories.”
The colloquialsm “boo,” is thought to have come from the French word beau, meaning beautiful, and may trace its eventual American English slang etymology from the rich branches of Afro-Caribbean language.
Recently, the term “boutique” has evolved to include niche items or those produced in intentionally small numbers at very high prices.
Like a boutique sporting goods or electronics store?
One can dream.
—David Gignilliat
(December 2011)
Tags: christmas, Lorin Drinkard, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, S.W.A.G., shopping