Gruen transfer
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In shopping mall design, the Gruen transfer (also known as the Gruen effect) is the moment when consumers enter a shopping mall or store and, surrounded by an intentionally confusing layout, lose track of their original intentions, making them more susceptible to making impulse buys. It is named after Austrian architect Victor Gruen, who disapproved of such manipulative techniques.[1][2][3]
Description
[edit]The Gruen transfer is a psychological phenomenon in which an idealised hyperreality is realized by deliberate reconstruction, providing a sense of safety and calm through exceptional familiarity.[1][2][4]
In a speech in London in 1978, Victor Gruen disavowed shopping mall developments as having "bastardised" his ideas:[5][3] "I refuse to pay alimony for those bastard developments."[6] The psychologists involved in these studies found that the size and appearance of such a shopping center have a special pull effect on customers. The moment a customer enters a mall and is overwhelmed by the size, intentional clutter, and glitz of the mall, he forgets his original goals and becomes susceptible to sales manipulation. He becomes an impulse buyer.[7][8] Supermarkets, for example in the food industry, also use the experience of the Gruen effect to slow things down, to direct attention when placing products, or to confuse the business through frequent remodeling.[9][10]
References in other media
[edit]A television program on Australia's ABC TV network, called The Gruen Transfer, is named after the effect. The program discusses the methods, science and psychology behind advertising.[11]
History
[edit]
In 1952, Dayton Company commissioned Victor Gruen to build the first indoor, climate controlled shopping mall, Southdale Center,[12] in Edina, Minnesota.[13] Southdale Center held its grand opening in 1956.[13]
Shopping malls became very popular from the 1960s on. In many cases, they were the only air-conditioned places in a town. Numerous shopping malls opened using similar design features, and were very popular until the 1990s.[2][13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Weiss-Sussex, Godela (November 30, 2006). Bianchini, Franco (ed.). Urban Mindscapes of Europe. Series:European Studies Series. Amsterdam, New York, NY: Brill Academic Publishers, Rodopi. p. 92. ISBN 9789042021044.
- ^ a b c Hardwick, M. Jeffrey (2015-08-18). Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812292992.
- ^ a b Frank, Jacqui (December 6, 2016). "There's a psychological phenomenon that explains why you lose track of time in shopping malls" (Video). Business Insider. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
- ^ Miles, Malcolm; Hall, Tim; Borden, Iain (2004-01-01). The City Cultures Reader. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415302456.
- ^ Malcolm Gladwell, The Terrazzo Jungle, The New Yorker, March 15, 2004, Accessed June 12, 2009.
- ^ Byrnes, Mark. "Victor Gruen Wanted to Make Our Suburbs More Urban. Instead, He Invented the Mall". The Atlantic Cities. The Atlantic Media Company. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ Katharina Weingartner, Anette Baldauf: The Gruen effect. Victor Gruen and the Shopping Mall. Dokumentarfilm 2012. (Englisch mit deutschen Untertiteln).
- ^ Victor Gruen (Autor), Anette Baldauf (Hrsg.): Shopping Town: Memoiren eines Stadtplaners (1903–1980). Böhlau Verlag, Wien 2014.
- ^ "Psychotricks der Supermärkte: Wie Kunden Manipuliert werden". RPR1.de. 25 August 2018.
- ^ "So einfach lassen sich Kunden im Supermarkt manipulieren". Welt (World). 27 March 2022.
- ^ "ABC TV - The Gruen Transfer - FAQ". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
- ^ "Retailing, Southdale shopping Center was also the first indoor shopping mall". The Economist. December 19, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2009.(registration required)
- ^ a b c "Southdale Center". mnopedia.org. MNopedia. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
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