Prelaunch StyleCast
StyleCaster Speaker Series: Dan Ariely
Elizabeth Monson
No one pays as close attention to you as much as you think they do, or so explains the "Spotlight Effect." While this theory holds true for the most part, in practice, it was suspended for an afternoon in the StyleCaster offices. Dan Ariely, a preeminent behavioral economist, visited to talk about how people act, why they act that way, and how it relates to the fashion world.
He started with the aforementioned "Spotlight Effect," which explains that even though we feel like people pay close attention to what we wear and how we act, in reality, people rarely notice. What exactly does this mean for us? That even though you finally made 1,000 followers, your tweets might still be falling on deaf ears. And yes, people might not notice that the dress you're wearing is from the sold-out Alexander Wang Resort 2010 collection.
Ariely also discussed how counterfeit goods make the consumer feel. Studies show that while you may feel like you are getting a great deal or outsmarting the system, owning knockoffs actually impairs how you feel about yourself as a person. When given counterfeit products as opposed to the real thing, users were more inclined to cheat on simple tests than their counterparts. Buying into something that you know is wrong, actually subconsciously causes you to do more wrong in real life.
The thought process follows the "What the Hell Effect;" if you've cheated once, what the hell, you might as well cheat again.
For his book, Predictably Irrational, Ariely researched group events like bag parties or sex toy parties to see how people react in a specific type of social setting. As it turns out, the opinion of the group depends heavily on how the first people react to the situation. If a few people accept the purse, or vibrator, or what you have in the beginning, everyone is likely to. If they reject the object, it will never take on.
We will be watching closely to see how this affects new retail projects. Flash sales seem to have taken off in the right way, but will the early adaptors accept renting clothes as opposed to buying? What do you think?
For more information on Ariely, visit his website at predictablyirrational.com.
Purchase his book here: Predictably Irrational, $22.38, at amazon.com.
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