Why People Buy Why do people buy? Why do people choose to buy certain products? These are important questions for manufacturers and businesses. One of the reasons is advertising. Manufacturers know that effective advertisements sell products. They understand people's behavior. in the marketplace. They have studied the psychology of advertising and buying. Manufacturers analyze the business of selling and buying all the time. This is called market research. They know all the different motives that influence a consumer's purchase. Only some of the reasons for buying are rational; most of the reasons are emotional. The business of selling in the marketplace is competitive. Manufacturers compete for special display places. In a grocery store, each one wants to own the eye level display. Many shoppers do not purchase products from the top or bottom shelves. The customer is often in a hurry, and the customer is human. Therefore, the customer buys the product within easy reach. Shoppers buy more products that they can see easily. On television, examples of special display places include commercials, or advertisements during major sports events, like the World Cup, the Olympics, the hockey championships, and the Super Bowl. Manufacturers pay large amounts of money to advertise their products on television because millions of people see these games. Other special display opportunities arc ads in magazines. The best advertising spaces are on the inside of the front or back cover of the magazine. The Internet is another special display opportunity for advertisers. They put their advertisements on the Internet. A computer user who is looking for information about a special plant may see ads for flowers on the screen next to the information. Or a sports fan who is looking for the scores of a game may see ads for sports equipment. The traveler who is making rental car reservations may see ads for cars and rental agencies. The advertisements are clever and entertaining. They pop up and flash on the screen. Like the other kinds of advertising, they persuade people to buy. Manufacturers and storeowners use their knowledge of why people buy. For example, they understand decision buying and impulse buying. They encourage impulse buying. For example, near the checkout counters at a lot of stores, there are large racks with many products on them. At a grocery store checkout counter, there may be collections of little books, magazines, candy, gum, razor blades, soft drinks, and other little things. These displays are very attractive. The customers go to the checkout counter to pay for their purchases; shoppers have already made all the rational, well thought-out decisions about buying. They are feeling good about their choices. They know that they have shopped well. However, at this point, shoppers are vulnerable. The customers stand there and wait to pay for their purchases. Their eyes move over the attractive displays of candy and the colorful pictures on the magazines. Then suddenly one customer buys something extra. The customer does not need or plan to buy candy or magazines—these are not rational decisions. However, for emotional reasons, the customer buys. What happened? Waiting for a few minutes in line, the customer picked up a magazine to look at it. Suddenly the customer decided to take the magazine home to finish an article. And that is exactly what the storeowner and manufacturer hope will happen: they expect the customer to buy for an emotional reason. Buying the magazine at the checkout counter is an example of an emotional purchase. However, many purchases are just the opposite. They are rational, well thought out. Logical buyers usually think about economy, dependability, and convenience in their purchases. However, sometimes advertisements change their minds. For example, fifteen-year-old Jonathan chooses the expensive athletic shoes that he sees on the feet of a basketba