Psychology

Reading Time: 7 minutes Is it bad to use Social Proof in Digital Marketing? Is there a bad way and a good way to use Social Proof and Social Influence? And the big question: Is Social Proof a Dark Pattern? In 2009, User interface designer Harry Brignull coined the phrase “Dark Pattern” and decided to maintain a website that […]

Reading Time: 7 minutes Have you ever wondered why TV shows use canned laughter, or why bartenders put money in their own tips jars? In a previous article we discussed the science of Social Proof. Here, we look at how Social Proof works, how it is used, and why social proof marketing is such a powerful sales tool. Social Proof shapes […]

Reading Time: 10 minutes What is a Psychological Trigger? How your visitors and website’s conversion rate are affected by psychological triggers? This list of 72 cognitive biases (psychological triggers) introduces the most important forms of unconscious bias that affect your business and conversions. By understanding these mental triggers, you can convert more of your visitors into customers. What is […]

Reading Time: 6 minutes Social Proof is a social and psychological phenomenon, also known as “informational social influence,” where individuals copy other people’s behaviour. It is responsible for the “buzz” that follows success and the way popularity comes in waves.  The effect occurs when a person is unsure of the correct way to behave. In this situation, they will often look […]

Reading Time: 9 minutes Consumer Behaviour is the study of why people buy things and how they choose what to buy. Experts in consumer behaviour take ideas from psychology and economics to help analyse and explain the choices we make. For example, scientists like Richard Thaler, Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely and Robert Cialdini have shown how the decisions we make are both […]

Reading Time: 13 minutes Apparently, you should never judge a book by its cover … that’s worrying, since these ones say that you’re about to do just that! According to their best-selling, $billion-making and Nobel-Prize-winning authors, you will judge these neuromarketing books before you even realise it. Our latest publication, Smart Persuasion, was inspired by the work of both psychologists […]

Reading Time: 10 minutes According to the most recent surveys, 92% of consumers read at least one review before buying something online. More striking, 47% of people will only buy products rated above 4 stars. However, despite these statistics, very few businesses have an effective strategy for using Social Proof in eCommerce. This article will show you: 14 proven ways to use Social […]

Reading Time: 6 minutes Despite claims that eCommerce has finally conquered the high-street, brick wall stores appear to be here to stay. Traditional shops do some things better than their digital counterparts and understanding why can help you to improve your eCommerce website. This article outlines 5 quick ways to upgrade your online customer experience, based on the psychology […]

Reading Time: 4 minutes Nudge Marketing is used to influence customers’ decisions indirectly through suggestion and reinforcement. Marketers use subtle interventions to adjust the “Choice Architecture,” making particular outcomes more likely. As demonstrated by Daniel Kahneman and Richard Thaler, most decisions are based on biases and guesswork. Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler, Nudge (2008): A nudge, as we shall use the term, […]

Reading Time: 6 minutes For the past decade, global brands and eCommerce websites have invested heavily in nudge marketing and neuromarketing expertise. This new approach to online sales has shaped the headlines, landing pages and even buttons used by our favourite websites: but what is neuromarketing, and how does it work? Your website loads in under 2 seconds, your […]

Reading Time: 6 minutes Thursday evening, 2.00 pm. I find myself driving around, trying to find an open shop. It’s coffee that I’m after, but the city has other ideas. “Doesn’t anyone want my money?” I asked myself. “Surely there are enough workaholics to justify a 24/7 caffeine drip?”  I started to wonder how many other businesses would benefit from […]

Reading Time: 4 minutes The machine wouldn’t scan. That was the excuse I gave to the security guards as they led me away from my local supermarket. Around my feet were pieces of a self-checkout machine I had just destroyed. Such are the consequences of poor user experience. The same principles, if not the same stakes, affect the User […]

Reading Time: 4 minutes Creating a successful menu is the one of the most important tasks for any restaurant. It needs to attract customers whilst generating a healthy profit. Restaurants spend huge amounts of time and money perfecting their menus. To do this, they use the psychology of choice. According to a Gallop poll, diners spend an average of […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes We’ve all seen it – grainy footage of frenzied shoppers wrestling over Black Friday deals. The reality of this modern tradition often resembles the most harrowing of horror-movie scenes. But what is it that drives people to such crazed behaviour – what is behind the psychology of Black Friday?  Businesses have invested vast amounts of time […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes Can consumer psychology improve your store? If you feel your eCommerce store is underperforming, or that you are failing to gain as much exposure and customers as you wish, you may want to look at consumer psychology. This article explains exactly what consumer psychology is, and how it can benefit your business. What is consumer […]

Reading Time: 7 minutes Do you have children? Ever tried to make them eat more healthily? Perhaps you’ve tried to persuade them that broccoli is delicious, or that eating spinach will make them as strong as Popeye? Is honesty top of your list? Often these attempts at persuasion can make us feel uneasy – probably because it feels like […]

Reading Time: 11 minutes I come from a country that was communist for a long time. My parents used to tell me stories about how when they were younger they would go to the supermarket and have nothing to choose from. There would only ever be three products – milk, bananas, bread – and just one version of each. […]

Reading Time: 4 minutes Discount codes and flash sales are simple and well known ways to convince customers to purchase a product, but what other methods can you use to boost conversion rates? It is not an easy task. In fact, according to web research company, Baymard Institute,  two out of three (67.45%) of online shopping carts are abandoned […]

Reading Time: 4 minutes We tell ourselves that we are rational shoppers. We gather as much information as we can before making a decision, and feel as though our choices were reasonable. That’s why it’s such a paradox to discover that we’re in fact extremely influenced by the Motivating Uncertainty Effect, which can lead to “inexplicable” impulse buys. This cognitive […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes Looking back, I really didn’t need that overpriced cup of coffee this morning but the seasonal flavours have just launched and I’m a sucker for anything Christmas related. But when I went to pay for my high priced coffee, I felt something that I can only be described as a pain or an ache… Psychologists […]

Reading Time: 3 minutes In everyday life we are constantly bombarded with cognitive biases, it is actually difficult to think of a situation in which these biases are completely absent. You probably don’t even realise that they are at work! Here are a few examples: × We will send you an email so you can grab the download later! […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts that cause a perceptual or decisional errors, which often go completely unnoticed. Your brain consists of around 100 billion neurons and has a processing speed of up to 120 meters / second. Amazing, huh? Despite such immense brain power, us human beings are not infallible — we fall subject to […]