How Retail Stores Get You to Spend More Money

August 13th, 2025· 4.1K views· 1:08
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The Hustle

Ever wonder why you walk into a store for one thing and leave with five? You’ve just experienced The Gruen Effect. Named after architect Victor Gruen - who accidentally invented the modern mall - this psychological trick uses store design to disorient shoppers and drive impulse buys. From grocery stores hiding milk in the back, to Zara’s maze-like layouts and malls with no clocks, it's all engineered to make you shop longer and spend more. For more deep dives into American consumerism, brand psychology, and marketing tactics, subscribe to The Hustle. Subscribe to The Hustle: 🔗 https://clickhubspot.com/vu3l Get the 5-minute newsletter keeping 2M+ innovators in the loop 🔗 https://clickhubspot.com/3kln About HubSpot: HubSpot is a customer platform that provides education, software, and support to help businesses grow better. The platform includes marketing, sales, service, commerce, operations, and website management products that start free and scale to meet our customers’ needs at any stage of growth. Today, thousands of customers around the world use HubSpot’s powerful and easy-to-use tools and apps to attract, engage, and delight customers. #TheHustle #HubSpot