A selection of articles and essays on consumer behaviour, research, and decision-making.
While no longer updated regularly, this archive reflects some of the themes and thinking behind Philip’s work.
Consumers’ Colour Preferences
One of the many challenges in product design is making colour choices. It feels (and is) extremely personal, but new research gives us some clues about what consumers want. Quite a lot of research has been done on individual colours, their …
Can Unconscious Marketing Influence Go Too Far?
At the moment I’m doing interviews with the media about my book, Consumer.ology; there is quite a lot of concern about the extent to which consumers are open to manipulation as a result of retailers understanding consumer psychology b…
The Positive Side of Superstition
A lot of people are superstitious. The funny thing about superstitions is that we hatch an idea (or are told) that there is a connection between one thing and another and, if it suits us, we’re prepared to go on believing it even when…
The Influence of Fonts?
Tell me all about it, you naughty thing. or Tell me all about it, you naughty thing. No one likes to feel self-conscious. Recently I listened to interview with the actor, author, comedian and TV presenter, Stephen Fry. …
The Amazing Unconscious Mind
In my first book, Consumer.ology, I investigated the importance of the unconscious mind in consumer behaviour. There is now a wealth of evidence that shows how it is the unconscious mind that can be significant in shaping how consumers beha…
Marketing Influence: Do You Want to See a Puppy?
Often, psychologists and neuroscientists are playing a game of ‘catch-up’ with marketing people. In our attempts to understand consumer behaviour we are looking for underlying mechanisms that can be identified and replicated, an…
Consumer Behaviour: Secrets of the Herd
In Consumer.ology I talk about how other people influence our own consumer behaviour. From our unconscious desire to copy what we see other individuals doing, to fads that sweeps through lots of the people around us, we are social creature…
Predicting the Winners at the London 2012 Olympics: Clues to Successful Sponsorship
Although we’re over a year away from the London 2012 Olympics the commercial competition to be part of this amazing spectacle is already running. A quick check reveals more than 40 brands that are linked to this event in some form or …
A Trick of the Light
For some reason (and I could make an educated guess) wine is a popular subject matter with psychologists looking to explore aspects of the way in which people are influenced without realising. I referenced several of these fascinating studi…