How NJ retailers trick you into spending more for the holidays

Holiday shopping is now underway throughout the Great Garden State. In fact, holiday displays began to pop up as early as September in some stores.

Although that might seem really early, it's all part of a strategy to get you to come back when the time is more prime. By getting displays out sooner, they're essentially giving you an opportunity to browse what they have in advance.

Those retailers are also setting the seed in your head that they will have a full selection of holiday merchandise. And his in turn may guide you back to them once we're in the thick of the holiday shopping season.

Having worked in retail myself, I can tell you some of these holiday displays come to the stores well in advance. Sometimes merchandise placement might begin deeper into the store before slowly moving toward more prime spots.

But that's only scratching the surface. Once Thanksgiving arrives and the official holiday shopping season kicks off on Black Friday, that's when retailers pull out all the stops.

And one of the ways they do that is by tricking you into spending more than you initially intended to. And no, it's not simply about putting the Christmas and holiday merchandise in prime areas.

In fact, what they do may not have much to do with holiday merchandise at all. It's also the regular, everyday products they get you to buy.

One of the first ways they do this is by playing some sort of holiday music list throughout the store. Music that matches the atmosphere and overall feel of the season.

But along with a holiday music list is the surrounding smell within an area. Studies have shown that if a store gives off a scent that matches the atmosphere, customers are more likely to make impulse purchases.

For example, let's say you're in the kitchen section and the smell of freshly baked cookies fills the air. Combine that with the right holiday playlist and automatically you're around 80% more likely to make an impulse buy.

One reason for this has to do with the memories it stirs. Those smells combined with holiday cheer trigger happy memories, and those memories influence your decisions as to whether you'd make that purchase or not.

Another study showed that the right blend of scent and atmosphere increased the average consumer spending by around 20%. That's a significant win for the retailer.

But it's not just about getting you to buy more. The scent also plays a role in keeping you in the store longer, which in turn increases the odds of more purchases.

And it's not just holiday scents that do the trick. One popular scent some retailers might go with is lavender.

According to ambius.com, "the smell of lavender has shown to slow the perception of time and encourage people to spend longer periods of time in a retail store." This is thanks to the relaxing power of the smell and the psychological effect it has on us.

It's the same reason why during the holidays a store might smell more like a freshly cut Christmas tree. If the atmosphere is very welcoming and has that perfect blend of music and smell, you're more likely to buy from them.

Something to keep in mind as you smell more pine and cookies while shopping around the Garden State this holiday season. You can click here to read more about how just the right scents can influence shoppers to spend more.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.