The Invisible Tricks That Tempt You Toward Addiction
Hello, this is Kaizan.
It's been about a week since the Obon holidays have ended,
Did you enjoy the Obon holidays?
Did you go somewhere?
Unfortunately with the typhoon, some people couldn’t spend the time meaningfully
perhaps many...
The other day, while talking with an acquaintance about Obon holidays
they said, “Everywhere was crowded
and travel expenses were high, so we just went to an outlet mall with the family.”
They complained,
“And because it’s cheap, they had me buy a lot of branded items.”
They grumbled.
“Moreover, outlet malls
have similar scenery everywhere,
so you lose track of where you are.
That place is exhausting.”
That’s what they also said,
“You’ve completely fallen for the outlet mall’s strategy, haven’t you (laughs)?”
They said, but...
Do you know the strategies outlets deploy
to attract customers?
First, outlets are
basically located far from the city center.
From the city center, it usually takes about 1–2 hours by car
to get to the suburbs.
It would be nicer to have them in more convenient locations,
so that more people would come, but...
of course this is also one of the strategies.
Then, why deliberately in the suburbs?
“Because land is cheap.”
“Because goods sold at regular prices in the city won’t sell well.”
Some people may think like that.
Indeed,
such reasons are conceivable.
But more importantly, there is a more important reason.
What is that reason?
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Do you know why outlet malls are located on the outskirts of large cities?
For customers, it’s a “short trip,”
so they stay longer in the store and spend more money.
December 12, 2016, First edition
Joshua Becker
‘Living with Less (Kanki Publishing)’
P.96
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You may have experienced this too, but
when you travel, your mood becomes more liberated.
Even thrifty people often think,
“Since I’m on a trip, I’ll indulge.”
That mindset makes it easier to spend more money,
so outlets malls target that psychology and deliberately place them in suburban, inconvenient locations.
A friend’s dad told me that,
he bought his family many branded items,
and that isn’t unrelated to
outlet strategies.
“Since we’ve gone all the way here,
today, it’s fine to splurge a little,”
the mindset works and
they end up servicing the family more than usual.
Also, as the acquaintance’s dad said,
large shopping centers like outlets
wherever you walk, the scenery is similar
and you tend to lose your sense of direction.
Even people with good sense of direction
might have a hard time not getting lost
on their first outlet mall visit.
Of course, this is also part of the strategy.
In fact, there is a concept called
“Glèn Transfer Effect.”
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There is a hypothesis
called
the “Glärden Transfer Effect”
or “Glore-Transfer.”
According to this theory,
some malls are deliberately designed to
make customers迷子 (get lost).
Exits and routes are arranged poorly,
so customers end up returning to where they started.
There, environmental music and special lighting
and visual cues combine
to push customers toward impulse buying.
October 9, 2014, First edition
Damian Thompson
‘The Addiction Economy (Diamond, Inc.)’
P.106
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Not all outlet malls have such tricks, but
there are many where the sense of direction is stolen
and you end up buying.
In reality, most outlets
are built similarly...
Many people go to an outlet mall,
and feel satisfied that they could buy what they wanted
cheaply, then leave happy, but
perhaps they were shopping exactly as the outlet mall intended.
Perhaps they’ve fallen into the outlet mall’s strategy and
bought things they didn’t intend to.
One more thing,
brands also prepare products exclusively for outlets.
Previous season’s models or leftovers
are often discounted and sold,
but
outlet items are frequently made with inexpensive fabrics,
so you might think,
“I could buy this famous brand coat so cheaply.”
but perhaps the cost price was low from the start…
that may be the case.
I’m not here to criticize outlet malls
but I’d like to shop wisely without being seduced by their strategies.
Being bad at shopping won’t make you a good trader, after all.
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How to Spot Dependence
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As I’ve explained,
the world is filled with unseen tricks that influence you in intangible ways.
They try to shake your emotions
and prompt you to take action in various ways.
Many companies
conspire behind the scenes so you don’t notice.
And sometimes, they lure you toward
“addiction.”
Alcohol, tobacco, shopping, gambling, investing...
various addictions
are created by corporate strategies.
How about you,
aren’t you becoming addicted?
If you feel “perhaps I am addicted,”
and you want to verify that truth, then
there is a simple method.
Next,
using alcohol dependence as an example,
the way to spot
an addictionis as follows.
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How to tell a normal drinker from an alcoholic?
Normal drinkers say this:
“I’ll go to the pub tonight and get wasted.”
Alcoholics say this:
“I’m going to the pub tonight, but I won’t get drunk.”
I don’t remember where I heard this at an AA meeting,
but nothing rings truer than this.
In my case,
recognizing I was an addict wasn’t due to the amount I drank.
It was because I could not predict when I would become totally drunk.
October 9, 2014, First edition
Damian Thompson
‘The Addiction Economy (Diamond, Inc.)’
P.161-162
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In other words, if you cannot foresee
what kind of future awaits you upon obtaining the object
, you are addicted.
Let’s translate this to trading.
Often people say,“I can’t wait to hold a position.”
There are many who suffer from the so-called “posi-posi disease,”
but
the problem is not just holding a position
without considering the future outcomes.
Those who cannot imagine the result
are a kind of trading addict.
People like that value the thrill
of holding a position more than achieving profit.
Of course,the result behind that is bankruptcy.
Losing capital is certain.
So, how should we deal with addiction?
One option, which is not highly recommended,
is to experience a major failure.
To learn from the bad consequences of posi-posi behavior
and then change your thinking.
Of course, if you can realize this without failing,
that would be best, but unfortunately, few can progress in the right way without failure...
With that, thank you very much for reading until the end today as well.
Shimon Kaiza
