Archive for December 21st, 2011

Xmas tip: Wrap it up, dummy.

December 21, 2011

For Christmas, Behavioral Economists (you know, the guys who say we’re predictably irrational), say that gifts should be carefully wrapped.

Why?

First, wrapping adds a personal touch … showing that you care enough to select the right wrapping and put some sweat equity into the present.

Second, wrapping adds to the romance (broadly defined), suspense and ritualization … you know: the shaking of the present, the slow reveal, the shouts of joy.

So, (1) do it yourself (2) don’t use newspaper or birthday wrapping (3) don’t say “I wrapped it myself” … that’ll be obvious.

Inspired by: The Behavioral Economist’s Guide to Buying Presents

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Xmas tip: for guys: gadgets … for gals: something expensive (and useless)

December 21, 2011

For Christmas,  Behavioral Economists (you know, the guys who say we’re predictably irrational), advise getting “him” a gadget and getting “her” something expensive and useless.

Excerpted from: The Behavioral Economist’s Guide to Buying Presents

Buying for a guy? Get him a gadget. Buying for a girl? Get her something expensive and useless.

University of Utah Professors Russell Belk and Laurence Coon  found three main purposes for presents: social exchange, economic exchange, or a sign of “agapic” — that would be Greek for “selfless” — love.

In the social sense, gifts were seen as a symbol of commitment.

In the economic context, men saw gifts as a way to get sex.

Women, meanwhile, tended to be more agapic, giving out of the goodness of their hearts.

But what did men and women actually want?

Belk and Coon found women care about the symbolic value, whereas men are more interested in the utility.

So women are best off getting their guy a gadget.

Men are better off going sentimental. Or extravagant.

In his book The Mating Mind, University of New Mexico Professor Geoffrey Miller explained that  the best gifts are “the most useless to women and the most expensive to men.” Flowers. Pricey dinners. Jewelery.

The less useful, the better.

Waste is the most efficient way to a woman’s heart.

Hey, I’m just reporting …

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Smile …. that security cameras is tracking your shopping behavior.

December 21, 2011

Punch line: Retailers are linking security cameras with software to track consumer behavior …

According to Business Week:

On the Web, every click and jiggle of the mouse helps e-tailers customize sites and maximize the likelihood of a purchase.

Brick-and-mortar stores have long wanted to track consumers in a similar fashion, but following atoms is a lot harder than following bits.

For the most part, they’ve been forced to rely on consumer surveys.

“The problem with survey research is the consumer can say one thing and do another.”

To get a better understanding of their customers in real time, mall operators are monitoring shoppers’ behavior with devices that track mobile-phone signals … are finding new uses for old tools such as in-store security cameras.

The goal is to divine which variables affect a purchase, then act with Web-like nimbleness to deploy more salespeople, alter displays, or put out red blouses instead of blue.

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How much healthcare do free-riders “take”?

December 21, 2011

Interesting tidbit from the WSJ …

On average, people without health insurance consume only about half as much health care as everyone else.

Of the amount of care they consume, they pay for about half.

Thus the “free ride” for the average uninsured person is about one-fourth of what everyone else spends on health care.

Raises an interesting question: do free-riders consume too little health care, or do riders consume too much?

Hmm …

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