10種公司促進消費的狡猾的祕密的把戲(上)

Shopping is a battle between company and consumer. You want to spend less, the stores want you to spend more, and they usually get what they want.

購物是公司和消費者之間的戰役。你想要少花錢，商家卻想讓你多花錢，而他們通常也能夢想成真。

That's not all on you, though. Corporations have a whole bag of tricks up their sleeves to get you to drop more of your hard-earned cash than you planned. From the tiles on their floors to the font size they use to purposefully rude salespeople, here are the top ten sneaky, secret tricks they're using without us even knowing it.

雖然這些事不都發生在你們身上。他們的袖子上掛了一大袋的花招來讓你花掉超出預期的血汗錢。從地板上的瓷磚，到使用的字體，再到刻意粗魯的銷售人員，這裏是公司正在使用的你甚至都不知道的花招前十位。

10 Decoy Pricing

10 欺詐定價

Think of the last time you went to the movies. Maybe you bought some popcorn. We all know it's overpriced, but did you ever wonder why the price gap between the small (say, $3) and the medium (say, $7) is bigger than the gap between the medium and the large ($8)? Well, it's because people are more likely to buy the large, thinking they're getting a bargain since it's only a dollar more than the medium. This is called the decoy effect. Essentially, companies introduce a slightly cheaper "decoy" option to make it seem like the most expensive option is a bargain.

回想一下你最近一次去看電影，可能你買了爆米花。我們都知道這個價格過高了，但是你曾想過小份（假定3美元）和中份（假定7美元）之間的價格差距比中份和大份（假定8美元）之間的價格差距要大嗎？是的，這樣是因爲人們更有可能買大份。因爲大份只比中份多了一美元，所以他們以爲他們得了便宜。這叫做欺詐定價。實質上，公司選擇細微的更便宜的“誘餌”來使最貴的選擇看起來是一個優惠。

MIT professor Dan Ariely conducted a study which illustrates the power of the effect. Using his students as test subjects, he split them into two groups. Both groups were offered subscriptions to the magazine The Economist. Group A was offered a web subscription for $59 and a combined web and print subscription for $125. 68 percent of his students chose the cheaper web subscription.

麻省理工的丹·艾瑞里教授進行過一個研究，這個研究闡明瞭效果的力量。用他的學生當測試對象，把他們分成兩組，都給他們提供《經濟學家》雜誌的訂閱費。A組被提供59美元的網絡訂閱費和125美元的網絡打印相結合的訂閱費。68%的學生選擇了較爲便宜的網絡訂閱。

He switched things up for Group B. He offered them a web subscription for $59, a print subscription for $125, and a combined web and print subscription also for $125. This time, 84 percent of his students chose the more expensive web and print subscription, thinking they were getting a great deal. By simply introducing a decoy option, sales increased by a whopping 30 percent!

他在B組改變了一些東西。他給B組的網絡訂閱費是59美元，打印訂閱費是125美元，和一個網絡打印相結合的訂閱費125美元。這一次，84的學生選擇了更貴的網絡和打印相結合的訂閱費，他們想是得了大便宜。通過簡單引入欺詐定價，銷售額增加了巨大的30%。

So think about the decoy option next time you hear the cashier say, "Do you want the large for just 50 cents more?"

所以下一次當你聽到收銀員說“你要大份嗎，只要加50美分”，想一想誘惑選項。

9 Dropping The Dollar Sign

9 去掉美元符號

We've all seen those chic menus at hip restaurants that drop the dollar sign in front of prices. But that's not just a stylistic choice. It's meant to make you spend more.

我們都在時髦的餐廳見過那些別緻的菜單，這些菜單的價格前面會去掉美元符號。但是這可不僅僅是一個風格上的選擇，它是爲了讓你花更多的錢。

According to researchers at Cornell University, diners spent roughly eight percent more at a restaurant when the menu did not include the dollar sign. Explaining the findings, Professor Sheryl E. Kimes noted, "References to dollars, in words or symbol, reminds people of the 'pain of paying.' "

據康乃爾大學的研究人員說，當餐館的菜單中不包含美元符號時，人們晚餐會多消費大約8%。在解釋該發現時，Sheryl E. Kimes 教授指出，提到美元，不管是在言語上還是在符號上，都在提醒人們“付款的痛苦”。

8 Using Small Tiles On The Floor

8 在地板上使用小瓷磚

The recent increase in online shopping has sent traditional stores scrambling to maintain their profits. As a result, retailers have gotten . . . creative.

最近網購的增加使得傳統商店爭相保持他們的收益。結果是，零售商變得更加地……有創造性。

A recent study of over 4,000 shoppers by Professor Nico Heuvinck of the IESEG School of Management in France found that "closely spaced, horizontal lines on the floor slow the pace at which shoppers walk down an aisle, encouraging them to browse and buy more. Widen the gaps between the lines and shoppers move more quickly and spend less."

在法國IESEG管理學院的Nico Heuvinck 教授最近的一項超過4000名消費者的研究中發現，“密集的水平線地板，可以放慢消費者在走道上的腳步，激勵消費者慢慢瀏覽商品然後消費更多。增大線條之間的間隙會使消費者移動更快從而花費更少”。

He noted that retailers tend to use smaller tiles in aisles that housed more expensive products while using bigger tiles in areas where they try to minimize congestion, like the entrance.

他指出，零售商趨向於在放置昂貴商品的過道上使用小點兒的瓷磚，同時在他們想要減少擁堵的地方使用大點兒的瓷磚，就像是入口。

Take a look next time you are in a store to see if there's a difference in tile spacing.

下次你在商店時，可以看一下那兒的瓷磚間隙是否不同。

7 '.99' Pricing

7 “.99”的價格

Okay, no one seriously thinks that $4.99 is any different than $5.00, right? Wrong!

好吧，沒有人真正地想過到4.99美元和5美元有什麼不同，是嗎？大錯特錯！

In a 2005 study by researchers from New York University, investigators found that ending prices in ".99," had an incredible impact, which they call the "left-digit effect in price cognition." "Nine-ending prices will be perceived to be smaller than a price one cent higher," they wrote. They explain that, because we read from left to right, the first digit in a price resonates with us the most. Unconsciously, our brains perceive $2.99 to be closer to $2 than to $3. Additionally, they added, ending a price in ".99" makes us think that the item is on sale, even if it's not.

在一項來自2005年紐約大學的研究者們的研究中，研究者發現，以“.99”結尾的價格有令人難以置信的影響，他們把它叫做“價格認知中的左位數效應”。“以9結尾的價格會讓人感覺比只多一美分的價格要來的小，”他們寫到。他們解釋說是因爲我們閱讀是從左到右的，價格的第一位數字是最能引起我們共鳴的。不知不覺，我們的大腦就認爲2.99美元更接近於2美元，而不是三美元。此外，他們加到，以“.99”結尾的價格會使我們認爲該產品正在打折，即使事實並非如此。

6 '10 for $10'

6 10樣10元

How many of us have seen a "10 for $10" sign at the supermarket and loaded up our cart? It's safe to say that many of us have. But did you know that oftentimes, you did not have to buy ten items in order to get the deal?

有多少人在超市看見“10樣10元”的字樣就會把它們裝進購物車？可以這麼說，我們很多人都做過。但是你知道嗎，很多時候你不必爲了得到便宜而買十件商品。

In many cases, "10 for $10" is just another way of saying "1 for $1." Still, many people end up buying much more product than they really need, according to William Poundstone, author of Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value and How to Take Advantage of It.

在許多情況下，“10樣10元”是“1樣1元”的另一種說法。許多人最終仍然買了比他們真正需要的更多的商品，《無價》的作者威廉·龐德斯在書中寫道。