spending more time. I mean spending more money. Stay with me. The case for dwell time You see, there’s a strange phenomenon that happens when you let people linger in a store. It turns out, when shoppers aren’t sprinting for the exit, they’re far more likely to open their wallets. The folks at Retail Sensing found that a mere 10 seconds of extra dwell time can boost sales by 130 per cent. Ten seconds! That’s the time it takes to realize you’ve walked into a chain you swore you’d never shop at again. Or the time you’ve spent wondering why every retail assistant under 25 looks like they’re auditioning for a gritty BBC drama. The Wall Street Journal even covered this back in 2015, pointing out that meandering shoppers spend more. Funny how the people who take their time to actually look at what’s on the shelves end up buying more. Who knew? New data on the spending-dwell relationship It gets better. A 2014 study by Patrick Bohl on airport shopping behavior revealed a striking pattern: Longer dwell time in duty-free shopping zones directly increased spending. Passengers who felt less time pressure were more likely to make purchases, especially impulsive ones, Bohl found. The logic is simple. If you have time to spare, browsing becomes an activity rather than a chore, and that’s when the magic – and by magic, I mean credit card swiping – happens. Add to that research from Hyunwoo Hwangbo on smart store technologies in 2017, which highlights how immersive experiences – like augmented reality fitting rooms and interactive mirrors – boost customer engagement and sales. It’s all about keeping people engaged long enough to cross the line from ‘just looking’ to ‘I’ll take two.’ First impressions matter: The primacy effect Let’s talk psychology. You know that thing your mum always told you about first impressions? Turns out she was onto something. The primacy effect – the idea that our brains cling to the first thing we experience – means that whatever greets you at the door sets the tone for your entire shopping trip. A dazzling window display? Great. A bored teenager on their phone who looks up long enough to say, “We’re closing soon, mate”? Less great. Neuroscience even backs this up. Early brand touchpoints light up the hippocampus like a Christmas tree, helping store memories. So if the first thing a customer experiences is a dazzling display of your brand at its finest, congratulations. You’ve won them over before they even get to aisle two. The final word: The recency effect But let’s not forget the ‘recency effect’. It’s not just about how you start; it’s also about how you finish. If the last thing a shopper remembers is a tedious queue or a faulty self-checkout, your carefully curated experience has gone the way of the plastic bag tax: frustrating and slightly pointless. The final moments matter. They stick in the mind, just like that last pint you really shouldn’t have had at the pub. The science of exposure: Or why familiarity isn’t always contemptible Then there’s the science of repeated exposure. Familiarity, as the experts say, breeds content. The more often customers interact with a brand, the more likely they are to trust it, which is why you’re subliminally drawn to that snack you’ve seen on a thousand YouTube ads. Every brand interaction – testing a fragrance, sampling a product, or even just lingering in the pleasant glow of mood lighting – cements the brand in the shopper’s memory. Familiarity is comforting. Like knowing every item in a Pret à Manger sandwich shop breakfast menu, it becomes reassuring, even when you’ve had too many avocado and egg sandwiches in your lifetime. What works (hint: it’s not being annoying) So, how do we get shoppers to stay? It’s simple. Make them want to stay. Comfortable seating, for example. Radical idea, I know. But give people a place to sit where they’re not perched awkwardly on a bench with their knees under their chin, and they’ll hang around. Add a coffee shop and they might even bring a friend. Before you know it, they’ve bought three items they didn’t come in for, including that overpriced candle they convinced themselves was a treat. Then there’s the magic of interactivity. In-store experiences that invite people to play, learn, or engage have been winning people over for years. Think flagship stores where you can try things out, have a mini adventure, or at least be mildly entertained. Even luxury beauty brands have cottoned on to this, offering skin analysis and workshops to keep people hooked. Research from Hwangbo found that smart mirrors and AR experiences not only captivate shoppers but also increase the likelihood of a sale. Customers linger, experiment, and – crucially – buy. Events, too, are a clever trick. Throw in an art installation, a guest speaker, or a food-tasting event, and you’re golden. It transforms a mundane shopping trip into a destination visit. Just make sure your “VIP Launch Event” doesn’t feel like an MLM meeting gone wrong, or the only thing people will be buying is an escape route. That said, there are bad ways to try to keep people in-store. If you think intentionally confusing layouts or painfully slow service will do the trick, think again. We’ve all been to stores that feel like a maze designed to confuse rather than engage. And nothing sends people running for the hills quite like a checkout that resembles a scene from “Waiting for Godot”. Shoppers aren’t stupid. They know when you’re being clever and when you’re just trying to force them to stay. Play the long game and focus on real, enriching experiences rather than gimmicks. Slow down to cash in So, what’s the moral here? Physical stores will never outpace e-commerce on efficiency, but they have an edge: the experience. A chance to create genuine, memorable moments that make customers feel something. The trick is to embrace that, lean into the slowness, and let people wander. Because sometimes, the best way to get someone to spend is to let them take their time. In this hurried world, that feels like a small but significant victory. And in a market where every second apparently counts, perhaps the real secret lies in making time work in your favor. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an overpriced candle to buy.