In a previous article, written for this website by David Parnell, he explained that thinking burns glucose and that, it might well be beneficial for retailers to provide customers with access to a small energy boost, perhaps a mint or drink, to help them stay energised for shopping.

A new study, whilst not looking at consumers, adds a new dimension to this advice and reinforces its importance for consumer behaviour.

It comes from research that has been conducted looking at sentencing patterns of judges. It’s another example of the extent to which we’re nowhere near as rational as we like to tell ourselves.

Much as I would like to believe that a judge’s sentence is based on an objective assessment of the facts of the case and a dispassionate application of the relevant laws and sentencing guidelines, the evidence suggests otherwise.

A researcher examined more than 1000 parole board hearings conducted in Israel and compared the decision to grant parole with time of day.

The results are not far short of astonishing. At the start of the day around 65% of prisoners were granted parole. However, as the morning progressed the likelihood of being freed reduced dramatically.

Just before a break, with the judges at their lowest ebb in terms of energy, the chance of being paroled dropped to around 10%.

Whilst re-offenders were less likely to be granted parole – the judges weren’t entirely driven by their energy levels – the three prisoners seen at the start of each session were more likely to be paroled than those seen at the end, irrespective of their criminal past.

The fact that this is a consequence of the unconscious mind is supported by the judges (who had more than 20 years experience, on average) being unaware, when asked, that this trend existed.

Whilst, I hope, most readers won’t be absorbing this with the scheduling of their next parole hearing in mind, I believe it has implications for consumer behaviour too. As David Parnell highlighted, mood can be closely related to energy levels. Providing a retail environment that isn’t overly draining, giving customers an opportunity to take a break (without getting too far from your store) and replenishing glucose levels can all help sales.

This could be something as simple as providing access to refreshments, it might even be ensuring there is somewhere customers can sit down if they are waiting (for example whilst filling out forms or waiting for a friend who is trying on clothes), or it could involve adding a cafe to your retail space or considering the proximity of one when evaluating a new retail location.

Source: Danziger, Leva and Avnaim-Pesso. 2011. Extraneous factors in judicial decisions. PNAS April 26, 2011 vol. 108 no. 17 6889-6892

Image courtesy: D. Sharon Pruitt