Pattern thinking: understanding the mind of the consumer

Abstract

Consumers experience retail environments through the encounters they have. Out of these, the oft-repeated ones become part of the way they experience the world, which lay down and solidify neural connections and firing patterns leading to sight, hearing, feeling, and doing. This ‘doing' shapes consumer experiences. The foundation for such experiences is the fact that human brains are geared towards recognizing patterns and interruptions in patterns. To their benefit, retailers use information about the brain identifying patterns of experience and anomalies in those patterns. This knowledge makes sales promotions so fundamental for engaging buyers. Their visit to their favorite store is interrupted by a sudden discount or an alluring offer, which retailers are forever carrying out to seduce buyers. This chapter explores the neuroscience theories that equip the retailers to send out signals to entice buyers and covers applications of such theories in real retail encounters, including the role of dopamine and the brain, impulse buying, and the thrill of hunting deals.