A cosmetics throwdown in Lipstick Lane

Doesn’t it drive you crazy when your forced to traipse through cosmetics just to get into the store?? All you want is socks or detergent, but you’re immediately confronted by sales clerks threatening to spritz you with “Eau de Awful”.

The counters are laid out to herd us through the displays of shimmering eyeshadows and candy-colored lipsticks. You walk miles just to escape. It’s obviously a profit driven tactic, but surely they realize we have more brains than that. Do they really think we’ll get distracted by all the pretty colors? Do they assume that we’ll abandon our original mission, dive in and emerge with a basketful of new eyeshadow, lipstick and perfume istead?

Of course they do. And they’re not wrong.

Retail designers are masters of human behavour. There is psychology behind the design, and it is sadly successful, sometimes.

Shopping is deeply personal and psychologically based. Who you are determines what you’ll buy. This design plan plays with the impulsive “See it. Want it. Buy it.” personality, rather than the more practical “Need it. Find it. Buy it.” disposition. That  foolhardy part of the brain—the one driven by shiny objects and quick fixes—hatches some of the strongest emotions that lead to impulsive buys, like:

• Greed – This will change my life. I’ll finally have it all.
• Vanity – This will make me look amazing. I’ll have bested so-and-so.
• Fear – The lingering, persistant voice of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) says to you, “Buy this now or you’ll regret it forever.”

Retail designers masterfully choreograph our shopping experience. Puppeteers pulling the strings as we, the lowly puppets, dance to their desire. Strings pulled, wallets opened. End of story.

What about you? Are you tempted? Do you fall for the lipstick trap? Or do you just roll your eyes and follow your chosen path? Leave a comment below.