The Psychology of the $14,000 Handbag Christina Binkley August 9, 2007, The Wall Street Journal What is too much to spend on a suit? The question weighed on Barry Schwarz as he scanned the racks at Boyds men's store in Philadelphia, which were laden with $3,000 Brioni suits. "Their prices were just out of the world," recalls Mr. Schwarz, a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College. We've all been there: A window display or a recommendation lures us into a store -- and we face unexpectedly astronomical price tags. It seems to happen more often these days as many luxury brands -- selling everything from $14,000 Ralph Lauren handbags to $899 Bugaboo baby strollers and $6,900 Beefeater barbecue grills -- push their top price points higher than they've ever gone before. What's priced below falls into that ever-expanding category: "affordable luxury." Some people cut and run when confronted with prices that seem crazy. But many of us experience a sudden emotional-mathematical transformation. We set a new ceiling for a "reasonable" price. Disinclined to go all the way to buy the trophy, we instead settle for a consolation prize. Mr. Schwarz, a jeans-wearing type, walked out of Boyds with a suit that cost merely $800 -- the most he'd ever spent on an item of clothing. "If you're in that world long enough, $800 stops even feeling like a lot of money," Mr. Schwarz says. This concept is one of the reasons for the proliferation of $300 designer sunglasses these days. The fact that Ralph Lauren is charging $14,000 or so for an alligator "Ricky" handbag makes it easier for a consumer to justify in her mind paying $300 for a rather simple sweater. Many Chanel sunglass owners are actually would-be owners of Chanel suits. Something similar has happened to many owners of Tiffany keychains, Prada legwarmers, Coach wallets, and Frette tea towels. When shoppers are confronted with prices they can't afford, a smart retailer will "move you right along to where you can salvage your pride," says Dan Hill, president of Sensory Logic, a Minneapolis consulting company that helps companies explore their sensory and emotional connections with customers. Pride, Mr. Hill points out, "is a mixture of anger and happiness." That pretty much describes the whole shopping experience at those moments when we're outpriced (anger), then soothe ourselves with a smaller splurge (happiness). In Mr. Hill's case, this played itself out in the purchase of a sweater when what he actually wanted was a certain pair of Jesus Jeans. A friend of mine remains sheepish about a smashing pair of high-waisted black Prada pants that seemed sensibly priced at $500 only after she had spent an hour eyeballing more expensive versions with the encouragement of a salesman at Barneys. And yes, it's time to concede to my husband that I spent $87 on that T-shirt at Lost & Found in Los Angeles because I couldn't bring myself to spend $395 on a certain dress. Given that accessories like sunglasses, fragrances, and logoed belts drive the sales of companies like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, such consolation prizes account for a very sizable chunk of the luxury business these days. Indeed, this ploy is the soul of Las Vegas -- a town built on people who roll in on Southwest Airlines expecting to play $2 blackjack until they see the high rollers at the $200 tables. Next thing you know, they wake up in the baccarat lounge with their own private casino host and a stack of IOUs. After a while, it just doesn't seem like real money. As for Prof. Schwarz, with his $800 suit, "I got sucked in. And I knew what was happening," he says. Mr. Schwarz has since written and spoken about this phenomenon to roughly 75 industry groups with audiences of as many as 8,000 over the past three years. He has found eager apostles in Microsoft, Google, the National Restaurant Association, General Electric, the Marines, Time Warner, the Dutch government, several health insurers, and Lehman Brothers. Mr. Schwarz calls the top-priced goods "anchors." Anchors, he says, set the ceilings on prices of objects that don't have a clear value. That is just about everything in luxury goods and fashion. In fact, that's one reason why some in the luxury fashion industry are irritated with retailers like Target and Zara: They're seen as setting the ceilings too low. Retail-consulting guru Paco Underhill says, "This has been a strategy that goes back to the 17th century. You sold one thing to the king, but everyone in court had to have a lesser one." Today, we have Hermès, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci. "There's the $500 bag in the window, and what you walk away with is the T-shirt," says Mr. Underhill. "It's the same strategy as putting the sports car in the window to sell the sedan in the back." Still, luxury brands today have fine-tuned the strategy. The folks at Coach are masters of this. Look for a notably expensive bag in one of the company's flagship stores. Only one or two of them are available for sale, a company spokeswoman pointed out to me. But scores of similar, smaller, less-elaborate bags are nearby, primed to walk out the door. And if you can't even go that far, try the wallet or the keychain. As convenient as it might be to accuse these manufacturers of gouging when they set prices so high on their top goods, there's nothing nefarious going on here. Clothing is one of the most democratic marketplaces around. There's always another store, another pair of pants to turn to.    手袋心理学    Christina Binkley    华尔街日报2007年8月10日   花多少钱买套西装就算出格之举?   这个问题曾在Swarthmore学院心理学教授Barry Schwarz的脑海中盘旋,当时的他正在费城Boyds男装店里看着货架上 一件件标价3,000美元的Brioni套装;他后来回忆说,这样的价格真是高得离谱。   我们都曾有过这样的经历:我们在橱窗或海报的诱惑下乘兴走进店来,却在天文数字般的价签面前惊讶得目瞪口呆。 似乎这种事现在正越来越频繁地上演,因为许多奢侈品品牌都本着“没有最贵,只有更贵”的原则把旗下高端产品的定价 标得一款更比一款高。所以四下望去,看到14,000美元的Ralph Lauren手袋、899美元的Bugaboo婴儿手推车和6,900美元 的Beefeater烧烤架这样的“天价”商品也就不足为奇了,那些价格稍逊它们一筹的就统统变成了所谓的“可承受奢华”, 而且这一阵营还在不断扩大。   有些人会在看到这种几近疯狂的价签时仓皇逃遁,不过我们当中也有许多人会在心里突然完成了一次从感情到数学上 的“升华”,也就是说,在这种刺激下我们心中合理价格的上限会随之上浮。我们此时就会选择退而求其次,姑且算是给 不愿倾尽全力将宝挖到手的自己颁发一份安慰奖。就比如Schwarz这位平日里的牛仔服爱好者,他那天还是拎着一套“仅 售”800美元的西服走出了Boyds 的店门。   虽然Schwarz从未在买衣服上花费如此之巨,但他却说,在那种商店待久些,连800美元都感觉像笔小钱了。   理解这种想法后也就多少能明白为什么300美元一付的名牌太阳镜能够大行其道了。既然拉尔夫·劳伦可以把他的 “Ricky”鳄鱼皮手袋卖到 14,000美元左右,那么消费者就更容易对自己花300美元买件普通毛衣感到心安理得。事实上, 许多人买Chanel的墨镜就是因为她们对这个牌子的套装求而不得。还有很多人买Tiffany的钥匙扣、Prada的护腿、Coach 的钱包和Frette的小毛巾也是源于这种心理。   Sensory Logic的总裁Dan Hill表示,当潜在的买主因价格超出承受能力而面露错愕之色时,聪明的商家就会知道该 把他的目光引向何处,好让他那颗骄傲的心很快得到满足和救赎。这家总部设在明尼阿波利斯的咨询公司致力于帮助企业 缔结它们和客户之间的感情纽带。   在Hill看来,骄傲是愤怒和喜悦的混合物。如此定义真是维妙维肖地概括了我们的整个购物经历,卖家的狮子大开口 先是让我们感到恼怒,然后我们就用小小的挥霍在抚慰自己受伤的心,继而一种愉悦之情油然而生。   根据Hill的观点,当一个人本想买条Jesus Jeans牛仔裤却买了一件毛衣时也是这种心理作祟。我有个朋友竟花500美 元买了一条黑色Prada高腰裤,而且她在购买时觉得这个价钱定得颇为公道,她之所以有此想法不过是因为她之前在 Barneys店员殷勤的招待和鼓励下花了整整一个小时来欣赏那些更为昂贵的奢侈品,也正因如此,时至今日她谈及此事还 有一点不好意思。   好吧,让我也向我丈夫坦白吧,我也曾在洛杉矶的Lost & Found花87美元买过一件T恤衫,那是因为我没舍得让自己 花395美元买条裙子。   不要小看这种我们自己买给自己的安慰品。墨镜、香水和带商标的皮带等小件商品能显著拉动Gucci和Louis Vuitton 等公司的销售业绩,这些小商品目前在奢侈品行业的地位堪称举足轻重。   事实上,这也是赌城拉斯维加斯的灵魂和根基所在。那些人搭着美国西南航空公司的飞机而来,本打算玩2美元一局 的21点,但他们看到有人以200美元起价豪赌后就再也按捺不住了。接下来发生什么不难猜出,他们会在巴卡拉纸牌 (baccarat)的游戏间醒来,旁边放着一摞筹码,身边还有专属的赌场主持忙前忙后;不过不消多时,这些筹码看起来也就 不像是刚从自己腰包里掏出的真金白银了。   这位花了800美元买西服的Schwarz教授意识到自己上了当,并表示自己明白了其中奥秘。在过去三年中他撰写了相关 文章,并向大约75个行业团体、多达8,000名听众解释了这种心理现象,他的观点在Microsoft、Google、National Restaurant Association、General Electric、Time Warner、Lehman Brothers、数家寿险企业等公司及机构、乃至政府 部门中都获得了高度认同。   Schwarz将天价商品形容为“锚”,正是这些锚为那些无法清晰定价的商品构筑了价格上限。   奢侈品和时尚行业中事事皆遵循这一法则。这也就是为什么精品时尚界对Target和Zara这样的零售商颇为恼火的原因: 它们的价格天花板建得太低了。   零售咨询业权威Paco Underhill指出,这种策略可以追溯到17世纪;当国王买到一件宝贝后,宫廷里就必须人手一个, 不过一定要比国王的差一些。而今天,我们的宝贝就是Hermes,Fendi, Louis Vuitton和Gucci。Underhill称,虽然橱窗 里挂的是500美元的手袋,但我们带回家去的却是一件T恤,正如汽车经销商把跑车展示在橱窗中,然后在大厅里卖轿车一 样。   不过,当今的奢侈品品牌已对这种策略做出了些许调整。Coach店员均深谙此道。一位公司发言人曾对我说,以旗舰 店中一款因昂贵闻名的手袋为例,它们可供出售的不过一件两件,但旁边就簇拥着众多造型相似、体积稍小、做工稍差的 手袋时刻等着由客户带出门去。如果你不幸连这样的手袋也买不起,那么总可以试试钱包或钥匙扣吧。   当我们看到商家把高端产品订出天价时很容易就张嘴谴责它们给消费者下套,不过这其实也没什么大不了的。服装市 场最能体现民主精神了,毕竟总有其他商店、其他衣服有待你去发掘。