Consumers are often told to “look but don’t touch,” that if they break an item, they buy it. But a new study suggests that if they just touch an item for more than a few seconds, they may also end up buying it, which is something struggling retailers might heed, when trying to attract more customers in a recession. Speaking of touch, another industry is hoping for a government bailout: the porn industry.
Scientists tested how touching an item before buying affects how much they are willing to pay for an item. A simple experiment with an inexpensive coffee mug revealed that in many cases, people who held the coffee mug longer than a few seconds seemed not only more compelled to outbid others in an auction setting, but they were also more willing to bid more than the retail price for that item.
Researcher James Wolf reminds us that retailers have been using the try-then-buy tactic for years. Car dealers often tell people to drive cars home and pet stores encourage shoppers to play with puppies because they know the attachment makes consumers more willing to buy their products. Wolf thinks understanding this attachment may help buyers make smarter decisions.
Meanwhile, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and “Girls Gone Wild” CEO Joe Francis plan to ask Congress to bail out the adult entertainment industry to the tune of $5 billion. On CNN, Rebecca Sinderbrand and Mark Preston quote Flynt spokesman Owen Moogan as saying, “?Everyone and their mother wants to be bailed out, from the banks to the big three?The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else?”
They quote Flynt as saying, “Americans can do without cars and such but they cannot do without sex. With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind. It’s time for congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America. The only way they can do this is by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly.”
Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
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