A trip to the supermarket has now become an exercise in psychological warfare. Shopkeepers know that filling a store with the smell of freshly baked bread makes people feel hungry and 31 them to buy more food than they intended. Stocking the most 32 products at eye level helps them sell faster than cheaper but less visible competitors.
Researchers on customer behavior are now investigating how “swarm intelligence” (that is, how social animals like ants or bees behave in a crowd) can be used to 33 what people buy. The idea is that, if a certain product is seen to be popular, shoppers are 34 to choose it too. With the help of modern technology, some supermarkets are now able to keep customers 35 about what others are buying. As a customer walks past a shelf of goods in one of these supermarkets, a screen on the shelf will tell him how many people currently in the store have chosen that particular 36 . As it turns out, such a “swarm moves” model 37 sales without the need to give people discounts. The reason is simple: it gives shoppers the 38 of knowing that they bought the “right” product—that is, the one everyone else bought.
The psychology that works in physical stores is just as 39 on the Internet. Online retailers such as Amazon are good at telling shoppers which products are popular with like-minded consumers. Even in the 40 of your home, you can still be part of the swarm.
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