What’s the “car door thunk” in your category?

Thump. Thwunk. Shunk.

It’s an open secret that the sound the car door makes when you close it has an oddly huuuge impact on how you assess the car’s quality.

This is because our brains are leaky: impressions we get in one area bleed into other areas. It’s called the halo effect.

So carmakers carefully craft the sound the door makes when it shuts so it sounds solid, not tinny. All of them, from Mazda to Maserati. And “psychoacoustics” is a big field of study.

Here’s the question:

What subtle cues have an outsize impact in YOUR category?

Are you aware of one? Two? Any at all? Have you watched people shop your category? Listened to their private mumblings? Caught them with their guard down, when they say things they “shouldn’t” (usually because it makes them sound irrational).

Learn how shoppers really shop. It’s always a mix of logic and loopy.