Bargain hunters: how shops make us buy

By Christine Drabwell December 27, 2019 No Comments

The post-Christmas sales are in full swing but how do shops persuade us to spend? Have some fund finding out more about what shops do to make us buy with the interactive tool below developed by our sociologists. And if you’ve enjoyed eating your way through the Christmas holidays and and want to know more about life works in a busy supermarket, take a browse at our earlier BBC/OU co-production Inside The Supermarket.

How shops make us buy

There’s more fascinating insight into how shoppers are enticed to buy – sometimes in just 17 milliseconds. Read more about the effects of ambient cues in retail environments, with The Open University’s Dr Morteza Abolhasani.

While Dr Abolhansi explains further how retailers capitalise on big events – like Christmas!

About Author

Christine Drabwell

Christine is a manager in the Media Relations team within the Marcomms Unit at the OU with an extensive background in media and PR. A former national BBC journalist, sub-editor and news editor, she also has a grounding in regional newspapers. Her PR experience includes working in-house as press officer in the busy Marcomms unit at the Zoological Society of London. At the OU, Christine covers widening access in HE, corporate news and campaigns, as well as stories from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She has just completed an MA in Philosophy with the OU.