Ikea : a maze which barely lets customers out

30.01.2011

Why is it so hard for customers to get out from Ikea's shops ?

Here is one of Ikea's mazes :

"A-mazing : a route a customer took through a store. Professor Alan Penn said they are designed to stop customers leaving"

"If you've ever found yourself hopelessly lost in an Ikea store, you were probably not alone. The home furnishing chain's mazy layouts are a psychological weapon to part shoppers from their cash, an expert in store design claims. 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 purchase.[...]"

Full article

from the Dailymail (January 24, 2011)

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Vocabulary - practise !

- Doing something "hopelessly" means doing it . . . . . . . . . . . (find a synonym)

- Find a synonym with "weapon" = . . .

- "part shoppers from their cash" = to make shoppers spend their money (so they get separated from their cash) : find at least 3 different words built like "shopper" [ Noun-er / Verb-er - like "worker" for example] : .............................. ................................. .......................................

- Find a synonym with : "compelled" = .............................................. and "maze" .= ...................................

- Explain the play-on-words in "a-mazing" : ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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