--- title: IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop | TIME description: Here's how IKEA gets us to buy more than we need, explained by TIME writer Josh Sanburn canonical: https://time.com/video/0fFiBuse/ og:title: IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop og:description: Here's how IKEA gets us to buy more than we need, explained by TIME writer Josh Sanburn og:url: https://time.com/video/0fFiBuse/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0fFiBuse/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop twitter:description: Here's how IKEA gets us to buy more than we need, explained by TIME writer Josh Sanburn twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0fFiBuse/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop [Watch (HLS stream): IKEA: The Psychology Behind Why We Overshop](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0fFiBuse.m3u8) (2:31)  _Published 2015-03-11. Here's how IKEA gets us to buy more than we need, explained by TIME writer Josh Sanburn_ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:02 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [IKEA Shopping Bag Gets Makeover](/video/kc2o1J59/) ### IKEA Shopping Bag Gets Makeover [Improve your private life - IKEA advert](/video/Qu6zncwy/) ### Improve your private life - IKEA advert [IKEA Halloween Ad](/video/JBZd8AxC/) ### IKEA Halloween Ad --- ## Transcript IKEA. Many of us have shopped here. But more importantly, many of us have over- shopped here. Its layout may seem benign, just a meandering path past living room sets, storage units and so much else. But it's actually a conscious effort to get us to not only buy but to buy things we didn't have on our list when we walked in. [ MUSIC ] Here's some of the psychology behind how IKEA's maze works. We're about to walk through the first part of IKEA's store which should be familiar to anybody who's been to IKEA, and that's the showroom. IKEA is very unique. And very different from, from other stores. You start going through this maze, through what's essentially a virtual catalog. Most of the time you can't actually pick up things and put them in your cart. That can actually prime customers, says Alan Penn, a University of College- funded professor who studies Ikea. It creates a sort of anticipation for when we get to a section where we can actually toss things in our cart. We essentially have to walk through the entire store, past all its products. Unless we take advantage of all its short cuts. He believes it's also psychologically disruptive because we've essentially handed over our shopping experience to Ikea, we're at the store's mercy. And then once we get to a place where we can pick up items, we're worried about having to go back and find them again if we don't grab them, so we might as well throw them in our cart. [ MUSIC ] Over the last decade, the cost of consumer goods has plummeted, thanks in part to their manufacture overseas. But then we bring it all home. And oftentimes all the stuff that we thought would make us happier just sits there. It turns out we didn't need a lot of it after all. And to deal with the anxiety that our over- stuffed homes can often bring us, well, we go shopping. After all, that Ikea bookcase to help us organize everything we just bought is too cheap to pass up. [ MUSIC ] There are ways that you can gain the system. First of all, make a list of what you need and do your best to stick to it. Don't shop if you are feeling depressed or anxious, those emotions can often lead to over shopping. Bring cash and don't use credit or debit cards, which can often lead to over spending, because they make us feel disconnected from money [ INAUDIBLE ] And remember to use IKEA shortcuts when necessary. That way you can avoid parts of IKEA maze all together and hopefully end up on the other side with exactly what you need. 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