A trip to the mall may seem like a benign enough excursion, but the average outing sends you through a gauntlet of calculated sensory assaults:

On a Whim
In most department stores, perfume and cosmetics counters are located near the entrance. "The reason is because in the nineteenth century, the streets of Philadelphia and New York stunk of horseshit," explains Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping and founder of Envirosell, a retail consulting firm based in New York City. "The original counters were designed to act as a barrier between the stink of the street and the elegance of the store." Today, tradition has yielded to modern profit logic: Counters are front and center because the cosmetics companies pay top dollar for the best real estate. Accessories, handbags, and baubles are often found on the ground floor too, in order to appeal to the magpie nature of shopping ("Roughly two thirds of everything sold is bought on impulse," notes Underhill).

Smoke and Mirrors
Anyone who's had the dressing-room experience of gazing upon her miraculously elongated reflection knows the magic of the "skinny mirror." It's simple science that can be achieved two ways: by a mirror that is slightly concave, or by tilting a mirror up to achieve a lengthening effect. According to a veteran sales-associate who's worked at several high-end Manhattan boutiques, "Yes, skinny mirrors exist. I don't think it's intentional deception, but more a part of the aesthetic. A freestanding tilted mirror looks better than one that's attached to the wall."

Scent and Sensibility
Progressive retailers are using scent in increasingly tactical ways. By pumping in odors, they create a sense memory in unwitting shoppers and bypass their critical faculties; the point is to establish a positive, lasting association between specific scents and shopping experiences. "If you visit the new Best Buy in Manhattan's Columbus Circle, you smell fresh-ironed linens in the appliance section," Underhill says. Apparently, that dryer seems a whole lot sexier when you catch a whiff of the domestic bliss it could bring you.

Buyer's Remorse
Are you the type of shopper who likes to take something home to "think about it." Then you're better off shopping at big department stores: They have better return policies than single-label shops and boutiques, which frequently don't offer returnsmdash;only exchanges within one or two weeks.

This Is A Developing Story

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