Consumerism - Shopping

January 3, 2012

Interview with Carl Richards, author of the book The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money

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Mike Carruthers:
Have you ever looked back and realized that some of your money decisions may not have been the smartest.

Carl Richards:
Obviously it’s not because we’re stupid. It’s just because we’re genetically hard-wired to make silly decisions. But one of the classic ones is buying something that everybody else wants and selling something that nobody else wants to own.
 

December 5, 2011

Interview with Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, Deputy Home Editor for Consumer Reports

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Mike Carruthers:
We use a lot of energy during the holidays but there are great ways to reduce that.

Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman:
One of the things that we suggest is LED light emitting diode holiday lights, they cost a bit more than the traditional strings but they use way less energy and they last longer.
 

November 25, 2011

Interview with John Gerzema, author of the book The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How to Avoid It

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Mike Carruthers:
Brand loyalty - people talk a lot about brands being critically important to the success of any business and yet…

John Gerzema:
What you're seeing is a much more frugal consumer who's making much more harsher decisions about which sorts of brands they're going to be loyal to and which brands they're going to purchase.
 

November 23, 2011

Interview with Jill Cataldo, syndicated columnist

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Mike Carruthers:
As we head into the holiday shopping season here is some expert advice to help you save time and money.

Jill Cataldo:
If you have stores that are willing to match prices – one of my favorite thing to do is to take that ad over to the other store which doesn’t have a line around the block, match that price if they’ve got that item and take it home without the hassle of fighting those crowds.

September 29, 2011

Interview with Martin Lindstrom, author of the book Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy

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Mike Carruthers:
Clothing manufacturers and retailers use some interesting strategies to get you to buy.

Martin Lindstrom:
First of all they’re working with a size of your pants, so maybe you suddenly realize, “Hey I can suddenly fit the pants I had 15 years ago” – well that’s not a coincidence.
 

Martin Lindstrom

September 28, 2011

Interview with Martin Lindstrom, author of the book Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy

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Mike Carruthers:
When you go shopping have you noticed that some stores use shopping carts that are twice the size as the old ones? It’s because when…

Martin Lindstrom:
The size of the shopping cart is double the size of what it normally would be you are likely to buy 35% more because you put more stuff into it.
 

Martin Lindstrom

July 7, 2011

Interview with Jeff May, author of the book Jeff May's Healthy Home Tips: A Workbook for Detecting, Diagnosing, and Eliminating Pesky Pests, Stinky Stenches, Musty Mold, and Other Aggravating Home Problems

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Mike Carruthers:
If you like to burn candles in your home you should be aware of what happens when you burn "jar candles" - you know the candles that come in the glass jars.

Jeff May:
Jar candles produce a lot of soot. If you look at a jar candle at the rim you can see it's all black and that's the soot.
 

May 6, 2011

Interview with Lauren Fix Spokesperson for The Care Car Council

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Mike Carruthers:
You really can improve your car's gas mileage.

Lauren Fix:
The first thing you can do actually costs nothing and that is tighten down your gas cap. Last year 147 million gallons of gas evaporated because of broken, missing or loose gas caps.
 

March 17, 2011

Interview with Perry Romanowski, author of the book Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?: Top Cosmetic Scientists Answer Your Questions about the Lotions, Potions and Other Beauty Products You Use Every Day

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Mike Carruthers:
Lots of cosmetic products promise to get rid of wrinkles.

Perry Romanowski:
And the truth is there’s only one thing that’s ever been shown to topically get rid of wrinkles and that’s retinol. 
 

March 16, 2011

Interview with Perry Romanowski, author of the book Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?: Top Cosmetic Scientists Answer Your Questions about the Lotions, Potions and Other Beauty Products You Use Every Day

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Mike Carruthers:
We spend a lot of money on cosmetic products and it can get confusing.

Perry Romanowski:
The beauty industry is a lot about products that are good products that work, but a lot about promises that they really can’t deliver.