大傢在商品促銷期間並不總是理性購物。有時，我們會因為買到瞭物美價廉的心儀產品而興奮開心，也會因為錯過瞭某個受歡迎的折扣產品而遺憾難過。產生這種購物心理的原因是什麼？本文介紹大腦用什麼機制促使你總想買便宜貨。
詞匯：shopping 購物
Fistfights over a flat-screen TV, hours in a queue for cookware, arguments over air-fryers. Why is it that discounts and deals can turn a simple shopping trip into a rampage through a retail park? What is it that makes a bargain so irresistible?
The answer might be in our heads. An fMRI study, where brain activity is measured, has shown that when we think about money we might spend, brain areas sensitive to pain are activated. When we think about the thing that we want to buy, areas sensitive to pleasure are triggered. Our medial prefrontal cortex evaluates these responses and makes a decision. If it looks like a good deal, we’re more likely to make the purchase and get a hit of dopamine. Writer Mark Elwood, who has written a book all about bargains, tells us that we get even more dopamine from something that’s unexpected, such as when something is surprisingly cheap. Our brains are keen to reward us for finding bargains and many shops are keen to take advantage of this.
Anchoring is a pricing strategy where we are shown an initial price, and then the real one. Popular items may be positioned next to something much more expensive, or we may see a very high previous price, next to the heavily reduced one currently available. The initial price, or anchor, conditions how we evaluate what something actually costs. Inflated anchor prices can make unreasonably high actual prices seem fair, and our brains are happy to reward us when we make the purchase. Other strategies include time limits, threatening to deprive us of our dopamine hit if we’re not quick enough, and charm pricing, where we’re much less worried about paying £9.99 than £10.
If we know this about how our brains work and how retailers might act, what should we do? It can be useful to take time to consider what we’re buying, hold on to something and walk around the shop before buying to give ourselves more time to evaluate a potential purchase. It can also be sensible to research prices before shopping, to get a better idea of what represents good value.
詞匯表
cookware 炊具，廚房用具
discount 折扣，減價
deal 特惠
retail park 零售商業區，購物區
bargain 便宜貨，低價好物
irresistible 不可抗拒的，難以抵擋的
medial prefrontal cortex （大腦）內側前額葉皮層
purchase 購買
dopamine 多巴胺
cheap 便宜的，廉價的
anchoring （價格）錨定
pricing strategy 定價策略
price 價格
expensive 昂貴的
heavily reduced 大幅降價的
dopamine hit 多巴胺刺激
charm pricing 尾數定價（以零頭尾數結尾）
retailer 零售商
evaluate 評估
value 價值
測驗與練習
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. When are the brain areas related to pain activated?
2. Which part of our brain makes the decision to buy?
3. True or False? Anchoring is where high prices stop people buying things.
4. Why do time limits make us more likely to buy things?
5. What two pieces of advice are given to help us judge prices?
2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
1. It always feels good to get a good _______.
value deal anchoring cheap
2. Think about how much you want to spend before making a _______.
discount purchase value price
3. _______ usually have a range of different shops.
Deals Retail parks Discounts Charm pricing
4. This week, all our prices have a 20% _______.
deal discount price bargain
5. The secret to a successful retail business is to come up with the right _______.
anchoring dopamine purchase pricing strategy
答案
1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。
1. When are the brain areas related to pain activated?
Brain areas related to pain are activated when we think about money we might spend.
2. Which part of our brain makes the decision to buy?
The medial prefrontal cortex of our brain makes the decision to buy something.
3. True or False? Anchoring is where high prices stop people buying things.
False. Anchoring is where contrasting prices make people buy more because they think they are getting better value.
4. Why do time limits make us more likely to buy things?
Time limits can make us more likely to buy things because we are worried about losing a dopamine hit.
5. What two pieces of advice are given to help us judge prices?
Taking time to consider what we’re buying and researching prices can help us make a better judgement when evaluating the price of something.
2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。
1. It always feels good to get a good deal.
2. Think about how much you want to spend before making a purchase.
3. Retail parks usually have a range of different shops.
4. This week, all our prices have a 20% discount.
5. The secret to a successful retail business is to come up with the right pricing strategy.
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