Scientific ways stores trick you into buying crap!

1. The way we move in a store

Studies show that we like to shop counter-clockwise. Over time, they've found that stores that put the door on the right do better business, stores with the door in the center do okay and stores with doors on their left are worse off! Grocery stores are laid out to lead you around a set path you didn't even know you were following. Knowing you'll head right, they place the freshest, best-looking stuff they've got right in your path. That's why they usually lead off with the produce, which actually makes the best impression on you. The idea is that you'll associate the rest of the store with the freshness, bright colors and nice smells you got from the nicely laid-out produce.

2. SHINY things!!!
Humans automatically assume something that gleams is fancy and valuable. Most people subconsciously think their car runs better after it's been washed and waxed! A study found that we slow down for a shiny store front! Researchers came up with a theory back in 1990, saying that it's due to an ability that evolved to help us find clean, drinkable water back when we had to worry about that sort of thing.

3. Shopping gets you naturally high!
Look around your place. Do you have any items you bought but have never used? Thanks to dopamine, we LOVE a sale! Research shows dopamine increases when you visit a new store or go out of town, which is why we buy stupid things when we're travelling!

4. Numbers

Humans are really bad with numbers, and it manifests itself in a whole bunch of different ways in the world of retail. They jack up prices and THEN put things on sale to show us the sale sign! Example, the iPad's pleasant surprise price of $499? That was due to rumors leading up to the launch that it would cost $1,000. Then in the unveiling, suddenly $499 looks like a steal.

5. We fall for brands

Back in the 1970s Pepsi built an entire ad campaign around taste tests they called the Pepsi Challenge. Most chose Pepsi, so the campaign was a complete success. However Coca-Cola went on outselling Pepsi around the world, to this day, despite people admitting repeatedly that they liked Pepsi better. Even worse, in a test where they could see the labels, the results were completely reversed: people loved Coca-Cola, when they could see the familiar logo and red can. This became known as the Pepsi paradox.

Found on cracked.com