We're drawn to living things and become stressed if too detached from them
Our evolved attraction to nature comes from a need to gather resources and survive. It therefore has a big impact on stress, attention and willingness to pay.
Rosenbaum, Ramirez & Camino (2018). A dose of nature and shopping: The restorative potential of biophilic lifestyle center designs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, 66-73.
The study
68 people were shown photos of shopping environments, either with or without plants. They were then asked about the environment’s percieved restorative power.
Those who saw the biophilic environment reported a higher restorative effect on wellbeing than those without plants.
Rosenbaum, Ramirez & Camino (2018). A dose of nature and shopping: The restorative potential of biophilic lifestyle center designs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, 66-73.
Key Takeaways
Use nature to restore consumer attention and boost dwell time (Lee et al., 2015).
Even a short exposure will reduce mental fatigue. Where are the most stressful points along a customer journey? Focus on ‘biophying’ these areas first.
Leaf the stress behind.
Research (Ulrich et al., 1991) suggests that having restorative green spaces in the workplace reduces stress, even though 58% of office workers still have no plants (Human Spaces, 2014). Seeing plants from a worker's desk lowered self-reported sick leave next to those without a bio-optimized view (Bringslimark et al. 2007).
Start small and slowly work your way down the list of biophilic enhancements.
Create familiarity through nature.
Use natural references to ground marketing of technologically-complex or abstract products to boost understanding and brand warmth (Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz, 2004).
In further detail
We're drawn to living things and become stressed if too detached from them
Our evolved attraction to nature comes from a need to gather resources and survive. It therefore has a big impact on stress, attention and willingness to pay.
Rosenbaum, Ramirez & Camino (2018). A dose of nature and shopping: The restorative potential of biophilic lifestyle center designs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, 66-73.
The study
68 people were shown photos of shopping environments, either with or without plants. They were then asked about the environment’s percieved restorative power.
Those who saw the biophilic environment reported a higher restorative effect on wellbeing than those without plants.
Rosenbaum, Ramirez & Camino (2018). A dose of nature and shopping: The restorative potential of biophilic lifestyle center designs. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, 66-73.
Key Takeaways
Use nature to restore consumer attention and boost dwell time (Lee et al., 2015).
Even a short exposure will reduce mental fatigue. Where are the most stressful points along a customer journey? Focus on ‘biophying’ these areas first.
Leaf the stress behind.
Research (Ulrich et al., 1991) suggests that having restorative green spaces in the workplace reduces stress, even though 58% of office workers still have no plants (Human Spaces, 2014). Seeing plants from a worker's desk lowered self-reported sick leave next to those without a bio-optimized view (Bringslimark et al. 2007).
Start small and slowly work your way down the list of biophilic enhancements.
Create familiarity through nature.
Use natural references to ground marketing of technologically-complex or abstract products to boost understanding and brand warmth (Rafaeli and Vilnai-Yavetz, 2004).
In further detail
We're drawn to living things and become stressed if too detached from them
The study
68 people were shown photos of shopping environments, either with or without plants. They were then asked about the environment’s percieved restorative power.
Those who saw the biophilic environment reported a higher restorative effect on wellbeing than those without plants.
In detail
Scarcity
We value things more when they’re in limited supply
Social Proof
We copy the behaviors of others, especially in unfamiliar situations
Prospect Theory
A loss hurts more than an equal gain feels good
Reciprocity
We’re hardwired to return kindness received
Framing
We make very different decisions based on how a fact is presented
Loss Aversion
We feel more negative when losing something than positive when we gain it
Self-Expression
We constantly seek out ways to communicate our identity to others
Default Effect
We tend to accept the option pre-chosen for us
Anchoring
What we see first affects our judgement of everything thereafter
Autonomy Bias
We have a deep-seated need to control our situations
Fast & Slow Thinking
We make knee-jerk spontaneous decisions that can cause regretful damage
Status Quo Bias
We tend to stick with our previous choices, even if the alternatives might be better
Dynamic Norms
We’re more likely to change if we can see a new behavior developing
Salience
Our choices are determined by the information we're shown