How Retail Stores Manipulate You

HELLO FRIENDS!!! ok this is a little bit of an experimental format for us, but we hope you guys like it - leave us a like & a comment if you'd like to see more videos like this! we saw a video from the Food Theorists where they discussed how grocery stores pump the smell of rotisserie chicken throughout the store to get you hungrier and more likely to buy more things, and wondered what other stores do this type of thing... have you ever caught one of these (or other) retail stores trying to ~manipulate~ you into buying more stuff? let us know in the comments below what other manipulation you've witnessed! xoxo, saf

luckily for me, I have a foolproof protection against these clever tactics meant to make me spend money. it's called not having any money

When I lived closer to an ikea, I would listen to an audiobook and walk the store like it was a line at Disney land. I love the dreamy sense of disassociation that really helped me to pay attention to the book. I could sit on a couch or do homework after…. Eat food and leave with my class work and exercise done. It’s a good way to spend a rainy afternoon

You forgot to mention that target has cup holders in their carts. Encouraging you to grab Starbucks and browse slower.

IKEA is one of the only places where i am very happy to be manipulated.

One more trick stores (supermarkets in particular) use is to change the layout of the store on a fairly regular basis... This prevents you from walking directly to the products you want/need as you suddenly don't know where they are, making you spend longer in store looking for them, and making you more likely to pick up additional items...

I went to college for graphic design. We had an entire unit about this kind of stuff. Afterwards, I found myself recognizing these patterns and avoiding them. I’ve saved a lot of money. Lol

This is basically everything I learned to get a bachelors in marketing summed up in a 23 minute video. Iconic.

IKEA for me does the opposite, I get so overwhelmed that I don’t buy anything

You can condition yourself to go into stores and not buy things you didn't come in for. It just takes work and practice to strengthen your willpower. It has made my shopping experiences that much nicer. I get to look at and pick up things that appeal to me but then I can put them back down without feeling let down. I'm teaching my kids this as well. We can go into a toy section, play around with stuff, then leave. No tears!

In places like Ulta and Sephora, I always pick out what I want online first and then buy it in the store. I never go in and just browse. It is waaaaaay too much going in Ulta, too many products to look through. Sephora is super expensive, so I already have my mind made up before I even enter the store. I rarely get anything extra from either places. I am completely obsessed with Target and I ALWAYS end up buying more.

I paused the video as my two year old daughter walked by me so I could say hi to her. She looked over my shoulder and shouted "TARGET!" with joy. She was right. When a two year old kid immediately recognizes the inside of your store, you've got your brand nailed.

I remember visiting IKEA, I spent 90% of my time there trying to leave .

safiya has really been hitting it out of the park lately with interesting and varied content, everything since colonial williamsburg ive been like “this is different but makes perfect sense for this channel, very excited to see it”

One time at Ulta I was getting a wax pencil for my eyebrows. Of course an employee suggested the $20 one to me. I had some time so I put it in my basket but kept looking. I made my way to the drug store product area and found one for $6 and I took it to an employee and asked what the difference is and I was told I should buy the $6 one because they’re exactly the same.

another thing that a lot of stores do (especially clothing retailers) is put the clearance section all the way in the back of the store or make it really hard to find. obviously they get less money if you buy things that are discounted, so they make you walk by all of the stuff that’s still full-price so you’re tempted to buy that stuff first.

That anxiety thing is real. I cannot shop Kohls anymore. They used to be fine, but lately it’s hard to go there because mine is always claustrophobic, overstocked and messy.

already saw this video long ago but felt like watching it again. And I realized yet again and just have to say it: At the core, you truly are a filmmaker and a journalist. out of everything that could come out of this post-tv-youtuber-era, your content feels like the best it can get: you and tyler are loveable, not judgemental, it's wholesome to watch, you have an eloquent vocabulary, yet still relatable. you dive into various different worlds yet always stay authentice. Keet it up, as long as it makes you happy

I work in retail and I can say this video makes so much sense. My store definitely does little things to get people to shop more and we always have customers that say I came in for one thing.

No wonder shopping is so overstimulating for us neurospicy folks. Absolutely draining

Another way that stores manipulate is by getting customers to sign up for credit cards. I was so happy that we didn’t have them at Sephora but a couple years ago they launched the card. We were told that our #1 priority was “selling” credit cards.

I remember my Dad telling me about when he was in the Edinburgh IKEA with my mum and they came across a tearful elderly lady who came up to them and asked for help escaping the store. Even after getting the bookcase you came in for you are forced to walk through the marketplace where you realise how much you need an egg timer and some tea lights

For me I have always been an intentional shopper when it comes to stores. It’s definitely because I hated how my parents would go to a store and spend hours and hours buying random things and usually forgetting the one thing they came into the store for. Like one time my sister needed tampons and instead they just bought all college dorm decor stuff and forgot the tampons at a target

I just watched her newest video and when she said “it would be a shame if I had to buy every lipgloss In this store I realized she was giving us a sneak peak of what was to come

Safiya: "Good luck putting it down now."
Me: *looks at price tag, immediately leaves the store*
Lmao its different when you're broke

I was in IKEA last week and a columbian couple came up to me and told me they were lost and didn't know where to check out and leave. I had to walk them probably close to half a mile to help them find the exit. There are arrows but they were dead lost somehow

I appreciate how Target has the toy section in the back. Possible strategy: preventing (or at least containing) child meltdowns that would make the store unpleasant for other shoppers?

I literally refuse to go to IKEA because of this. I have been twice and got major anxiety both times. I’m not even a crazy anxious person but feeling trapped and forced to go through a maze sends me into a panic!

I also think that with Ikea, the idea that they make you go through the "big" stuff first is a manipulative tactic. It makes it so that you get a bit overwhelmed by the sizes and prices of the larger home items and feel more comfortable spending the smaller amounts on the smaller items, thus buying more things. It's like when you need someone to do a big favor for you so you ask them a couple of smaller favors first to get them used to saying yes, only in reverse lol

This is why I mostly switched to online shopping. Going to physical stores is exhausting.

Girl your editing and research skills are UNMATCHED. You’re consistently producing high quality, entertaining, well researched, educating and funny content. Love it!

My favorite thing is going to Target on Sunday for groceries right when they open at 7am. There is no one there but the employees and you get to take your time without it being packed. Top tier experience lol

I've also noticed in Sephora that it's hard to find a particular brand unless you've memorized its location, because all the displays are in black and white and the logos/signage is small and all the same size. Makes me think they want you to wander around all the makeup until you find the thing you're actually looking for

As a child, I got lost in IKEA. Still haunts me to this day, an old couple helped me navigate the maze that is IKEA.

Hey Safiya. I just wanna say you and Tyler always bring me happiness in a bad time for my family right now. Currently without a place to call home and struggling to keep my head above water for my 19 month old lil girl. You make my mind go into a better place for a moment during your videos and I appreciate that. Love you guys and love your adventures! Please never stop 😭🥰🥹🥹🥹♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

I loved this video. I am a marketing student, and there's so much thought about placement, colors, lights, scents, music, prices, etc.

The odd thing is that even being aware of these manipulations, we still seek out these stores to shop at knowing full well we're going to buy more than we planned. Making a list usually helps me stay on track.

I adore this video idea! It reminds me of MatPat's food theory video on grocery stores. *edit - she says that's actually what inspired this video! It's so cool to see their friendship reflected in their content like this. 🥰

I do love Ikea so I'm perfectly fine with manipulation. In fact I've been around the store so many times I already know where everything is so I now CAN take shortcuts and I really do manage to leave with just the stuff on my shopping list.
However, there is one thing that still gets me, and that's the lack of the fourth wall and the absence of ceiling. Well, the normal one, at least. So when you're in the showroom and you walk through the "flats" you admire this or that piece of furniture, you admire the living room and how it's set up and you think to yourself "this would totally work in my own living room!" And you are so sure it would work because look how great it fits everything in this fake Ikea flat, you buy it and take it home and assemble it and suddenly it doesn't fit as good as it did in the store. You suddenly don't have enough space or it feels cluttered or whatever, and that's because you do have all of your walls at home and the ceiling is much much lower. :) Still awesome, though :)

I really enjoy when you go through the history behind what you are doing in your videos, it’s super cool and interesting to watch! 💕

I'm Canadian and everyone was SO excited that Target was coming. It was a complete disaster though, I think all of the stores closed within 2 years of opening. They didn't have any stock, every department was mixed with a couple of items and huge swaths of empty shelves and displays. It was actually depressing to shop there and they were very over-priced. On a plus, the Ikea by my house is 5 minutes away so we often go in for just marketplace and then leave.

The shininess of sephora really activates people's raccoon brain. Makes you wanna bring stuff home

I feel like Marshall’s and home goods should have been added to this study. They have that treasure hunt design that works like a charm.

Something my dad taught me was that you're always being manipulated. It doesn't matter who or what, you just are. So stay sharp, people

This is why I have a shopping list and I eat before going grocery shopping.
I’m following things my mom did, which honestly helps out as college student.

I feel mentally strong bc the target effect does not work with me. I find it impossible to find anything, get frustrated and say forget it I will buy what I needed on Amazon lol

I don't even wear makeup, so I've definitely been manipulated by the smart/strategic Ulta design. I only go in for skincare or haircare and always leave with foundation or gloss or eyeshadow or brushes that I'll use like twice in the year. At other stores, I'm much more disciplined. I love target, but mostly leave exactly with what I planned to purchase.

We are being manipulated by the stores. However, in my opinion, as consumers we have the responsibility to look at our behaviour. In this time that we are alive, we are being influenced on and off social media, which leads to overconsuming (e.g., trying to keep up with trends). I was like that too and always wondered where my money went.
After my divorce it has been one hell of a ride financially (I never had to worry about money, or how to spend it, and now I had to count my pennies), and I decided I wanted to do things differently; build an emergency fund, minimalistic living, and more. In the last eight months I found ways to accomplish this, with some help from other ESclipsrs. In my opinion, it's about getting grip on your finances and growing a stronger mindset when shopping. It won't come overnight, but it's possible if you put your mind to it.

My husband watched this with me and he turns to me and he goes. “Today I learned that you and I have an incredible amount of self control when it comes to shopping.”

The biggest problem is not having a planned budget and list for every shopping trip. Plus only going to the store for things you need not want or just to browse.

I have never set foot in an IKEA and I had NO idea they had a restaurant in there where you could actually sit down and eat a hot meal. Looks like I'm going to have to visit just so I can eat the food. Lol. My daughter loves IKEA. She says she can't go in without buying something for her house. Also, Target may have Starbucks in their stores but my Walmart has a McDonald's right inside their front door to the Market section.

So in one of my high school classes we actually had a simulator game for merchandising. So I already knew that stores were manipulating us, but this stuff is always fascinating to hear about and how each store does it a little differently.

I used to help manage a Disney Store and did a lot of marketing, planning floor layouts, and changing walls/shelves. So much of that had to have sales in mind. It was really cool to learn about the tactics behind sales.

i just started working at an ulta and it's so interesting to walk around while i stock and notice all the manipulation tactics you pointed out. love your channel!!

When I worked in retail, our rule of thumb was “eye level is buy level” . So hot ticket items were always eye level

And it's not just in store. You can't walk down a street without seeing billboards or go on social media without seeing ads. Our whole day is interrupted constantly by advertising. I'm a shopaholic and hoarder. I'm now getting wise to the manipulation and I want to change!

This is a great video! Interesting concepts and that classic Safiya and Tyler banter that makes these videos great! Well researched and well produced!

I’ve loved ikea ever since I was little, no wonder why I want to be an interior designer someday. I always like to pretend I’m living in the little rooms and every section of the store always has something that draws me in. It’s like the mall with every store you like right in front of you 😭

As someone who doesn't really enjoy shopping in large stores I made the mistake of going to the new Ikea they built by my house recently....never again! I swear they lost a customer for life from me, me and my husband felt like we got trapped in a corn maze and couldn't find our way out....2 hours later and we finally made it out of there but I felt so drained I vowed to never return....my husband and I now joke about that certain stores (like Ikea) make you feel like you have the flu once you leave.

grocery outlet uses special lights in the fruit/produce section so that fruit looks more ripe than it is. Green grapes look amazing in the store but when you go home you realize they are a bit brown/green and over ripe

my favorite retail scam is how certain stores doesn’t mark anything in the store so you have to go around looking for things and buy 50 other items you don’t need on the way

I'm finding the cheapest and fastest way to shop is to buy it online and go pick it up at the store. I do this with everything I buy from Target. The shelf price is always higher and I avoid the temptation to buy things I don't need. I don't see how they make money this way though it works well for me! Oh..you two had me laughing the whole video! Very informative too! Great job!

I loveeee these types of videos! They’re informational and they affect us all in our daily lives, without even realizing!

This is quite helpful of identifying these tactics in our own local stores and avoiding impulse buys. These stores are literally playing with the buyer's brains.

And this is why I don't grab a cart at Target because everytime I do I fall into that damn trap. The one time at Ikea it was eyes forward, I found what I wanted online and just went for it.

Well done, this is a great class in marketing. I worked in advertising & packaging design for many years, it’s kind of amusing to see how companies try to manipulate consumers these days - some things haven’t changed, some are new. I do still love wandering through IKEA after 40(!) years. & yes, I do use the shortcuts.

COSTCO is one of the most obvious of the manipulators. It's simple: move products around so customers have to 'shop' around looking for what used to be in 'that spot' but now it's not. Brilliant!!

My mom has the Target effect but in Walmart, whenever she says "I'm going to Walmart to pick up a few groceries" it's *Never* "just a few" and she always gets like atleast 20 more things than on the list..and oh boy ya better just find somewhere to sit if she passes the clothes on the way to checkout bc she's got to look through alllll of them

I preferred the old style of Target, but I am happy for the self check outs at my local one, because I've been at them before and gotten swamped in those lines, so I'm thankful they recently remodeled and put them in. Personally I go there mostly for children's clothing, baby items and holiday items. :) My only gripe is their clearance prices suck. XD

I don’t know if it can be proven by science but I also think that when im in an ulta and head over to the drugstore area after the high end, I feel more eager to buy things after seeing the prices drop so much.

I have worked at multiple grocery stores and all of this is absolutely true. In fact, they specifically have maps for the employees on how to stock for each season. Including facing each object/food to make it more appealing.

This was fantastic!! Thanks so much for taking the time and research into making this informative video!

I’ve never been in an ikea, and I’m not sure this is making me want to 😂

Remember when stores used to have one way aisles? I was basically forced to go down ones I normally wouldn’t and ended up spending more money. 😅

The trick to only getting what you came for at target is to bypass the main part of the store by heading towards the restrooms. Then only go to your intended area. I got Starbucks a couple of weeks ago for my birthday. I drank my coffee and left without purchasing anything else. I don’t spend time looking at things unless I intend to buy.

Love your video. FYI...Sephora did not pioneer the high touch beauty counters to encourage people to buy more. It was pioneered by Barbara Hulanicki with her iconic London store Biba which was a retail lifestyle phenomenon for young women in the late 6Os and early 1970s. Check out Biba videos on ESclips.😊👍

As a hot tip for the luxury items especially hair at Ulta, the shelves that are eye level have new products that were recently launched to get customers to buy those products and they are typically next to a fairly good selling product. The ones at the bottom are typically on the chopping block to be discontinued. However, all this only hold true if they have those 4-5 shelves dedicated to one brand

THank you so much for conducting all that research! It was very interesting and enlightening. I was just at The Container Store today, and although I was there for 1 specific thing, I did notice that I had to snake my way to the area and also that there were strategically-placed sections of "kitchy" stuff to get there. It's fascinating to analyze why a store is laid out the way that it is.

You hit it right on the head, Target is the store for those who want to be D-bags and snobs but don't want to pay high prices.

Personally large stores like this make me anxious because I wanna get in and out. I’m more likely to buy from these stores, but online so I can buy exactly what I needed

Once you open you open your eyes to Ikea its kind of ridiculous how unsutle they are, like, "fill your carts with conscious decisions" 😂

I always feel claustrophobic in an Ikea store because there is no quick / direct way to leave.

My trick is, if you are going for the long shop, defo eat before. But if you know what you want and you’ve been before, enter through the exit, plus they normally have the sale items near the check out. Great video. ❤

Another interesting fact: I’ve learned in Uni about a psychological effect that when you create or build something yourself you will enjoy and appreciate it more, because you’ve put work into it. So Ikea letting you build your furniture yourself is even more genius because it not only saves them a lot of money but makes you like the furniture even more!

Stores haven't realized that shoppers and shopping have changed and it's not only because of mail order. Different forces are in action.

Really enjoyed that. It was really interesting seeing how similar UK stores (even though they are different retail chains) look to the US stores you visited (IKEA obviously is identical and I have those chair hooks). My son (when he was about 12) had memorized all the short-cuts in a local IKEA - which was extremely useful. We found unlimited free tea (with the "family card") a good incentive to visit and stay in IKEA. It's a tactic also used by one of the posher UK grocery stores. Happy to watch more like this. Thank you.

About no windows in the store part of IKEA. Funny enough, I've been to the flag store in Älmhult, Sweden and their garden section is actually bright and light from all the windows they have in the section to invoke a greenhouse atmosphere.
Also IKEA uses those bins full of many items to emphasize inexpensivess of the product

I love window shopping though, just going to a store to see if anything stands out. Usually doesn't and I'm good at talking myself out of purchases at this point haha. It helps that I was usually broke when developing this skill, so I couldn't buy anything.

I'm pretty sure Macy's puts so many mirrors in their store to manipulate into feeling trapped and to keep shopping, but I could be wrong, just a theory.

The "intentionally overwhelming experience" part explains very well why a lot of autistic people (including myself) HATE retail stores. We experience all of those many sounds and lights and smells etc. even stronger than neurotypical people do, and for us it very easily crosses into "too much" and leads to sensory overload (instead of leading to buying useless stuff).

A tip for stores like these is that if you didn't go in to get the item, try walking out and deciding, once the item is out of your sight, if you care enough to come back for it. Obviously this can't be effective against grocery store marketing strategies because food is a daily need (and IKEA's "entire day of it" model makes this difficult for that) but the whole point of the strategy is the annoyance. If you don't want it that badly, taking another in-person trip to the store is a commitment. But even if you're just doing another lap of the mall before returning to Sephora, I find it really helps my brain get out of that "manipulated by the market" place before making a purchase decision. And once this is habitual for you, you'll have a bit better of an understanding of what sort of things you care enough to come back for. Results may vary, I may have issues with object permeance complicating why this works so well for me.

Going to an IKEA is the most stressful experience in my life. I feel like I am in an insane labyrinth. I always go to the warehouse and ask the employee to get the only one item I came for lol

The Target Effect in Canada was "The result of going into a store intending to buy a few things, seeing that none of those things are in stock, and leaving with nothing." And then going to Walmart.

Could you do a part 2 with stores that are more baffling, like Bed Bath & Beyond, that has lanes so crowded that you can't pass people? Thanks guys!!

I haven’t been to Target in probably a year and a half but watching this video and the fun y’all seemed to be having gave me the urge to go, so whatever Target is doing must be working lol

Checking in from Las Vegas - we are currently being subjected to all of these tactics at once 🕺

I'm unaffected by all these stores cause of coupon shopping/Fetch Reward points and having a list and sticking to it, the only time i self indulge is when I'm in a Artist supplies store...like damn look at all those Copics, i gotta collect them all!

A very interesting video! Personally, to overcome spontanous buys, I ask myself "For what will I use it? How often? Where will I place it?" Then I just drop whatever I do not want at a shelf (yes I know I might make a mess, however, very few shops have a "did you change you mind?"-box so I see it as encouragement for the shop to get one ;) ) Also to wait w buying things I didn't plan to buy, to return the day after makes a big difference - one usually realises that one doesn't want the thing that much...

My trick for these things is treating the majority of stores I go into like a zoo. I go to browse but have zero qualms with leaving empty handed unless I went in intentionally looking for something

There must be some science to this because I definitely feel like buying different things at different stores, even if they both have the same stuff.