Clever money trick used on every shopper in Kmart: 'It's very intentional'

Have you ever walked into Kmart intent on buying one thing but then walking out with five? If so you’re definitely not alone and there are countless TikTok videos and Instagram posts of people bemoaning the same problem.

It might feel like a simple lack of self-restraint, but there’s far more to it. There’s a whole science behind the layout of stores like Kmart - and shopping centres in general - that intentionally create an environment to make consumers part with more cash.

Paul Harrison, Professor of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing at Deakin University, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that the tactics major retailers use can actually strip shoppers of their ability to make rational decisions thanks to sensory overload.

With Christmas looming and Aussies struggling with the cost of living, it's not exactly the ideal time for shoppers to be falling prey to the tactics major retailers use to increase their bottom line.

How shopping centres get us to spend more money

“It’s all about overwhelming the senses,” Paul says.

“These places are full of light, colour, music and hard surfaces and it’s very intentional. It’s known as ego depletion where you can’t make rational decisions as your senses are being overwhelmed.”

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And yes, when you aren’t making rational decisions that fancy $40 candle or the black top, like all the others you have, suddenly seems like a brilliant idea.

How do Kmart and Woolworths play into shopping centre tricks?

While retailers like Woolies and Kmart use their own tactics to entice people to spend more money within their aisles, they also play a part in the bigger picture with precisely where they are placed in shopping centres.

As content creator Abbey explains, "You may have also noticed that big supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths are typically positioned on the opposite end [of the shopping centre]. [So are] Big department stores like Big W, Kmart, Target and Best and Less because these stores are called anchor stores and they have the capacity to pull people into the shopping centre."

Abbey goes on to explain that by putting these big, well-known stores on either end of the supermarket, people have to cover a lot of ground to get from one to the other, thereby "passing other stores and making unplanned purchases and spending more time in the mall."

Why you can't resist impulse buys

The layout may also be a bit confusing. You want to get to the toy section, but huge display walls take you on a roundabout route via homewares and stationery, and then it’s difficult to find your way out again.

Again, you guessed it, this is not accidental.

“If the layout isn’t instantly understandable you’re more likely to make impulse buys,” Harrison said.

“The sense of overwhelm is tiring and so your brain goes to its fallback which is to make quick, automatic decisions, not rational ones.”

And of course, if you have to keep circling the store, or the shopping centre, to find the exit you’re confronted with more products that you might just pick up and purchase.

Why you shouldn't pick items up

That leads to another trick the clever marketers have been working on. Touch.

The shelves are bursting with items that we can handle, play with, try on for size and there’s a very good reason for that.

“Studies show touching an item increases a sense of ownership and simply touching or holding an object can increase our likelihood of purchasing it,” Harrison said.

“You value things more the moment they are in your possession and there’s a feeling of pain in giving them up.”

On top of the ease of picking objects up, there might be specific lighting that encourages you to do so.

Bright, focused lighting in somewhere like Kmart, for example, encourages the handling of products, in turn boosting the likelihood of purchase.

In other sections, there might be slightly dimmer lighting which creates a cozy, intimate feeling and again this increases sales by making people feel at ease and like they are going to make a good choice.

What can shoppers do to spend less money this Christmas?

In the face of all of this trickery, it feels like a trip to the shopping centre is like entering a den of wolves.

We might as well hand over our credit cards at the door if these stores are going to take our money anyway.

But Harrison said that doesn’t have to be the case and we can still shop in a way that means we get only what we go for.

“The trick is not doing too much and making sure you have breaks,” Harrison says.

“The way the brain works, if you’re changing your motivation from time to time and swapping activities it’s able to clear out all the ‘gunk’ built up by the overwhelming stimuli. Going for a coffee and giving the brain a break will make it more efficient in its decision making.”

But taking a break at a coffee shop within a shopping centre is not the answer and in fact, shopping centres have these dotted around to give customers the impression they are having a breather when they are still being affected by all the bright lights and fast music.

“You have to go outside the environment entirely to relax and then you can come back and start again,” Harrison said.

“It means having just one or two goals for your shopping trip and not getting your whole Christmas list done in one go.”

It might take longer but you’ll spend less.

Other tips for shoppers to save cash

Harrison’s other big savings tip is to shop with a list and to stick with it.

Checking stock online before you go into the store saves you the trip and the inevitable alternative purchase when what you want isn’t there.

He also advises not going to the shopping centre as part of your social life.

“If you’re there you’re more likely to spend so disrupt that and don’t meet a friend for coffee or a drink at the mall,” he said.

It’s the same with supermarket shopping. If you can do your weekly shop in a standalone store rather than within a shopping centre you’ll most likely save money by not popping in elsewhere afterwards.

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Is online shopping the answer?

With all this said surely the perfect alternative is simply to stay home and shop online. But actually Harrison disagrees.

“The online shopping experience is more sophisticated than shopping in person," he said.

"The algorithms are basic, but they can adapt and adjust what they push to you, guessing what you’ll buy at certain times of day, for example. Online shopping is not as ideal as people would like to think.”

Instead, this Christmas make a list you stick to and try and take it slow. Kmart will hate you for it!

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