Thu, 29 Jan 2026

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 'You don't feel judged': Why we buy more at self-service terminals

How restaurants and retailers use behavioural science to get us to increase our spending.

* Evoke Creative, a company based on an industrial estate in Birkenhead, Merseyside, makes self-service terminals that use behavioural science to increase sales.
* The company's founder, Dean Ward, says that people may be more likely to spend more at a terminal because they feel less judged and can view product imagery more easily.
* Behavioural science techniques have been used by companies for decades, including the famous "more doctors smoke Camels" campaign in the 1940s.
* Authority bias is one technique used to influence people's choices, where businesses use endorsements from experts or authorities to promote their products.
* Default bias is another technique used, where people tend to stick with the default option, as seen in the success of auto-enrolment in work pensions.
* Behavioural science can also be used to impact people's choices on more sinful things, such as wine purchases, and has been used by the World Food Programme (WFP) to promote healthy eating and reduce food waste.
* The article concludes that behavioural science is being used by companies, governments, and even the UN to shape people's choices in various ways.
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