In the 2012 movie Silver Linings Playbook, Pat Solitano, Sr., the character played by Robert De Niro, is obsessed with having the right good luck charms at hand so his team, the Philadelphia Eagles, can win.
Although that depiction may exaggerate what’s true for typical sports fans, it’s true how these folks, as well as casino gamblers, are drawn to items they believe, or want to believe, will tilt the odds in their favor. What’s behind this from a consumer psychology perspective? asked researchers at Tulane University and Columbia University.
Their answer is that when people have a high emotional investment in an outcome over which they can exert little actual control, they get superstitious. Football players may have their preferences for good luck charms, but since the players do influence the game’s outcome, the attraction is less intense than it is with fans who aren’t out on the field, but still consider the team to be an extension of themselves.
All this provides an opportunity for you to cheat your shoppers by selling them items which are not in their best interests. As the Tulane/Columbia researchers say, you could set up circumstances in which you’d hawk to some fans Dr Pepper instead of Coke, even though those fans hate the taste of Dr Pepper and like the taste of Coke.
This is not an opportunity you’d be wise to exploit. Cheating customers rarely pays off well for the retailer who’s in it for the long term.
However, you’ll profit all around when you associate good luck in the shopper’s mind with items which will genuinely benefit them, or are at least innocent sops.
At the same time, help the purchaser stay aware that any charm bestows less than invincible powers: Researchers from North Carolina State University and University of South Carolina analyzed two sorts of outcomes for high-stakes football and basketball game, such as a playoff or a homecoming rivalry. They found that the closer the game, the higher the number of automobile fatalities. This finding was much more striking when the winner was the fan’s home team. There was no evidence of a significant increase in traffic deaths in the hometowns of the losing teams.
Winning a close game, when it is a vicarious experience as a spectator, generates high levels of testosterone, interfering with sober judgment when driving. No lucky charm will compensate adequately for that.
Click below for more:
Sport Attractions for Watching & Playing
Offer Superstitious Shoppers Good Luck Charms
Beware the Intoxication of Wins
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