Written by Have you ever returned home from a shopping trip and realized you bought way more than you had planned? The Gruen Effect might be to blame.
The podcast 99% Invisible broke down the phenomenon. The Gruen Effect occurs when you are so distracted by a store’s lights, colors, and beautiful product display that you lose track of what you came to purchase and start shopping other products. It’s named after the Austrian architect Victor Gruen, who designed storefronts using big window displays to showcase products and entice pedestrians into entering the store to make a purchase. Gruen designed the first shopping mall in Edina, MN (only a 20-minute drive from the REAL Insight office). Although Gruen went on to denounce the final product, the Southdale Center and the Gruen Effect live on.
The Gruen Effect can also be seen outside of shopping malls in places like grocery stores or large furniture stores. According to Vox, stores like IKEA strategically design their layouts so that shoppers see as many of their products as possible before leaving. Grocery stores place candy and snacks by the checkout line, knowing that by the end of your shopping trip, you will be tired and so more likely to make an impulse purchase.
In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, psychologist Daniel Kahneman proposes that only a small percentage of our decisions are made using the rational part of our brains, which he names System 2. System 2 is responsible for consciously processing and analyzing situations to make decisions. According to Kahneman, a much larger portion of our life is guided by the impulsive part of our brain, which he names System 1. System 1 is quick to act, looks for shortcuts to make decisions, and is susceptible to making decisions influenced by emotions rather than logic.
Considering the Gruen Effect and Kahneman’s theories together, you can see that brands have a very narrow window to reach their consumers. How do you reach a tired, distracted consumer acting on emotions and impulse? How do you make sure your product stands out against everything else battling for a consumer’s attention? In-context research can provide answers!
With over 30 years of in-context research expertise, we at REAL Insight are uniquely prepared to help you understand the challenges shoppers face while in the store. By meeting with consumers where their shopping occurs, we are equipped to understand how they approach the category your product is in. We can provide actionable insights on how you can adjust your product design or strategy to reach consumers in a demanding, sometimes confusing, and distracting environment.