This counterintuitive conclusion has to do with socializing and privacy. Researchers at The University of Alabama and The University of Toledo note that when there are a number of people in the same area, they’ll usually be talking among themselves. This wall of conversation provides a nearby shopper with feelings of privacy, the researchers find, and when a shopper feels privacy, they become more likely to take forbidden actions, including shoplifting, if they are otherwise so inclined.
The inclination to shoplift grows with items a shopper considers embarrassing to purchase, such as foot deodorant or anti-gas tablets. In the studies of the conversation-privacy-shoplifting link, genital lubricants were the product category considered. The link was found to be stronger regarding that category than for hand sanitizer.
An insight from these findings is that assigning extra staff to mingle around products at risk of being shoplifted could actually increase theft rates. Because staff know each other, they’ll probably have conversations, adding to the wall of sound which produces the sense of privacy for the shoplifter.
Another surprising finding is that the effect is stronger when an area is brightly lit. Retailers may raise lighting levels on the assumption that theft is easier for others to spot. However, bright lights increase attention to details in general, and this includes the shoplifter’s visual information about the presence of others talking. The theft might be easier to spot, but it’s also more likely to occur.
With forbidden actions aside from shoplifting, the influence of lighting is usually in the opposite direction. In a study at four restaurant locations, researchers at University of South Florida, Portland State University, Cornell University, and Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group found that when the ambient lighting level was bright, 48% of the patrons selected a fried food, red meat, or other item considered relatively unhealthy. The percentage was 65% for a different set of patrons ordering with dimly-lit dining. College students were more likely to select the 100-calorie Oreo over the chocolate-covered Oreo and raisins over M&Ms when the lights were bright.
The researchers’ explanation is that brighter lighting wakes us up, and fuller awareness leads to wiser choices. I see it as illumination of social risk—what others will think of us—and psychological risk—what we’ll think of ourselves.
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Counterbalance Embarrassing Purchases
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