【每日邮报】宜家“迷宫”的玄机

如果您曾经在宜家商场里迷了路，没关系，很多人都有这样的经历。

The home furnishing chain’s mazy layouts are a psychological weapon to part shoppers from their cash, an expert in store design claims.

一位从事商场设计的专家说，宜家内部的布局，是这个家具销售连锁企业心理武器，让消费者不再想着自己口袋里有多少钱。

The theory is that while following a zig-zag trail between displays of minimalist Swedish furniture, a disorientated Ikea customer feels ­compelled to pick up a few extra impulse purchases.

当消费者沿着宜家里面弯弯曲曲的过道一路走过去，看着两旁极简抽象派艺术的瑞典家具时，很快就会让消费者辨不清方向，冲动之下，买了很多别的东西。

According to Alan Penn, director of the Virtual Reality Centre for the Built Environment at University College London, Ikea's strategy is similar to that of out-of-town retail parks - keep customers inside for as long as they can.

艾伦•潘(Alan Penn)是伦敦大学学院，建筑环境系的虚拟真实研究中心的主任。他说，宜家的策略类似于那些在坐落在郊外的综合购物城的布局策略，让消费者在那里的购物时间尽可能久一些。

'In Ikea's case, you have to follow a set path past what is effectively their catalogue in physical form, with furniture placed in different settings which is meant to show you how adaptable it is,' he said.

“在宜家，你购物时得沿着他们设定的小道走。这时，两旁的宜家产品得到了有效的展示，那些家具也用不同的格局进行摆放。这让你感受到这些家具有多么灵活的适应性。

'By the time you get to the warehouse where you can actually buy the stool or whatever's caught your eye, you're so impressed by how cheap it is that you end up getting it.'

“当你走到宜家的仓库区，你会去买个凳子或者其他吸引你的东西。因为，它们给你价格很便宜的印象，最终让你掏钱买下来。”

While its stores have short-cuts to meet fire regulations, shoppers find the exits hard to spot as they are navigating their way through displays of flat-pack furniture, he added.

当然，宜家也有符合消防安全要求的逃生捷径。消费者在那些堆着扁平包装的家具的货架中穿行时，很难找到商场出口。他补充说道。

'Also you're directed through their marketplace area where a staggering amount of purchases are impulse buys, things like lightbulbs or a cheap casserole that you weren't planning on getting.

当你被购物小道引导到类似集市的区域时，那里有一大堆让人眼花缭乱的东西，像灯泡，便宜的砂锅，冲动之下，就会买下很多原来没有打算买的东西。

'Here the trick is that because the lay-out is so confusing you know you won't be able to go back and get it later, so you pop it in your trolley as you go past.

奥秘在于，宜家商场设计犹如迷宫一般，你会觉得一旦错过，就再也找不到了。因此，你就会一路走，一路往手推车里装东西。

'It's not like somewhere like John Lewis where everything has a logical lay-out and you know you'll probably be able to navigate your way back to the same spot again.'

这可不像在伦敦的高档百货公司约翰•路易斯(John Lewis)里面那样，商品都摆放得条理分明。你想再走回头去看看，也能找到路。

Alongside its reputation for good, cheap design, Ikea's distinctive labyrinth has been phenomenally successful with 283 stores in 26 countries and profits of £2.3 billion last year.

有着迷宫般商场的宜家，靠着质优价廉的设计，去年取得了23亿英镑的利润。在全球26个国家，开设了283家连锁店。经营看来十分成功。

The sometimes gruelling strategy - dubbed 'more like S&M than M&S' by Prof Penn - is similar to that employed by out-of-town shopping centres to attract customers then keep them in side for hours on end, he added.

这个有时让消费者感到筋疲力竭策略，在艾伦•潘教授看来，更接近S&M百货的经营方式，而不像玛莎百货的。这是地处郊外的购物中心常用的方法，为了吸引顾客在那里逗留的时间久一点。

Studies at the Bluewater centre in Kent found that shoppers spent an average of just over three hours inside, with a significant number spending eight hours at a time there.

研究表明，消费者平均会在那里呆上超过三个小时，很多人甚至花了了八小时在那里。

Malls are subtly designed to keep shoppers moving around the retail floor, rather than towards the exit, while the frequent need to drive to the middle of nowhere means visitors are encouraged to make a day of it.

那些购物中心的设计，巧妙地把消费者引向商场内的店铺，而不是出口。让消费者不知不觉中逛上一整天。

Along with familiar cafes and play areas, a common design is the 'dog bone' mall, where a large store at either end - such as Marks & Spencer or Debenhams - is attracted at knock-down rent, while smaller stores like Next or Mothercare cluster in-between to take advantage of the custom they generate.

除了有熟悉的咖啡店和游戏区域，这些商场都有着类似“狗骨头”形状的布局。商场两端都是大的商店，类似玛莎百货(M&S)或者德本汉姆百货(Debenhams)公司，而且租金极其便宜。而中间部分，会放上小一点的店铺，如Next或者Mothercare等，让它们也能分享到大商店带来的客流优势。

Supermarkets use similar tactics, according to Prof Penn.

教授说，超市也会采用类似的策略。

'They couldn't get away with having shoppers going in one single route like Ikea, so what they do is put popular purchases like milk and bread at the far end of the store so you have to walk past shelves of other products on the way.'

他们无法像宜家一样，让购物者沿着一条道走。但是，他们会把销量大商品，如牛奶和面包放在商场的远端，让消费者穿过摆放着其他商品的货架，才能到那里。