Zombie Consumer: How marketers decide what you buy

In The Zombie Consumer, neuromarketing expert Dr Peter Steidl explains the two different brain circuits we all have: a Thinking Mind and a Doing Mind. The Thinking Mind is capable of making carefully considered, rational decisions, while the dominant Doing Mind wants to conserve thinking energy for more important tasks and so seeks shortcuts when facing a choice. He provides an overview on how the human mind functions while shopping, as well as a look at the techniques marketers use to influence the consumers Doing Mind. The book finishes with ways to deal with the influence marketing initiatives have on purchase decisions, depending on how much time and effort someone wants to spend. Steidl offers a middle-ground solution in the book, which is packed with examples of marketing techniques that influence people in ways that they might not realize. He suggest becoming a “part-time Zombie,” that is, allowing the marketing tricks to work in less important circumstances, but knowing the ticks to get around them for important purchases. “The simple truth is, it can pay to be a Zombie Consumer when you’re making decisions that aren’t important or interesting to you,” Steidl said, “as long as you know that’s what you are doing, and can break out of Zombie mode when it’s in your best interests to do so.”