Human Shopping Habits

You might assume that humans buy products because of what they are, but the truth is that we often buy things because of where they are. For example, items on store shelves that are at eye level tend to be purchased more than items on less visible shelves. In the best selling book Nudge, authors Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein explain a variety of ways that our everyday decisions are shaped by the world around us. The effect that eye-level shelves have on our purchase habits is just one example. Here's another: The ends of aisles are money- making machines for retailers. According to data cited by the New York Times, 45 percent of Coca Cola sales come specifically from the end of the aisle racks.