Have fun at the mall without spending a bundle -- Page 2
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com

Most likely bargain items? "The mall is generally about fashion and gifts," says Underhill.

Some use malls as a place to look at what's new and hot, while they do their actual buying somewhere else. "It's a showroom," says Oleson. "If I'm looking at it from that standpoint, I usually don't go to a car lot and buy the first car I get into. I'm not going there to buy, just to look and try things out and see what I like."

If you are there to shop for bargains, be sure to check out the back of the stores -- especially on the left. "Many apparel stores will use the same strategy that grocery stores do, putting the milk at the back left hand corner," says Underhill. "That's often where things are on sale. The strategy is to draw you as deep into the store as possible."

Retailers are hoping that on your way, you might see something else you like. Another impulse danger zone: the register area.

Another strategy: some stores will set up a counterclockwise circulation pattern. The reason: "Your dominant right hand gets closest to the product," says Underhill. "The point is getting you as close to the product as possible with the hand you normally interact with."

Be wary of sales. While a sale sign might pique your interest, don't let it make the buying decision for you. Instead, "look at something and say: Do I need it? Will I actually use it?" says Underhill.

Sophisticated retailers will also use lighting to flatter the merchandise." Visual merchandising is an art form," says Underhill. "Some of the merchandise never looked better than it does in that store."

So unless you plan to live there, take the item to a window and check it out in more natural light.

And, unless your small planned splurge is food, you probably want to eat before you go. "Food there always costs more," says Oleson.

Head trips
Sometimes shoppers buy something because they actually need it. Other times, they attach meaning to items that have nothing to do with their actual purpose. Smart consumers realize that a shirt is just a shirt. And if they don't buy it today, they can find one very much like it tomorrow.

One shopping issue, particularly with women, is, "How is this going to transform me from the person I am now to the person I want to be?" says Underhill, who calls the phenomena "the Cinderella effect."

The best way to short-circuit the Cinderella impulse? "Just be aware of it when it happens," he says.

Men have their own issues with shopping, Underhill says. Rather than taking their fun from the shopping itself, they enjoy the actual buying. Their challenge: "avoid the drunken sailor behavior, spending foolishly," he says.

And most important, learn to separate the shopping experience from the merchandise you're actually taking home.

"Recognize that a professional shopper is one who gets pleasure out of ownership and use," says Underhill. "Amateur shoppers get their pleasure out of acquisition."

Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.