Behavioural Economics Explained Through Real Life: Anchoring, Bias & Impulse Buys

📖 “The Brain Says No, But Zara Taps Add to Cart”. A Behavioural Economics Love Story

A tale of impulse buys, pizza bias, and why humans are walking behavioural case studies.

Zara was broke.
Like “checking her Monzo mid-transaction” broke.

But she had just seen the words “Limited Edition, 80% Fat-Free Cookie Dough Protein Smoothie” flash across her screen on TikTok.
It was in pastel packaging. With glitter.
Her brain?

“You literally don’t even like smoothies.”
Her thumb?
Taps ‘Add to Cart.’

Classic case of bounded self-control, folks. The brain says no. The vibes say yes. 🛍️

🎬 Scene 1: Pizza Paralysis

Later that night, Zara stared at her food delivery app like it had wronged her in a past life.
Dozens of new offers. Burgers. Bao buns. Vegan sushi.

And yet... she ordered her usual: pepperoni pizza. Again.

“I know I do this every time. But what if the bao is bad? What if I regret it? What if the pizza place misses me?”

This, dear reader, is rule-of-thumb behaviour — the economics version of “I’m not taking risks today.”

🎬 Scene 2: Anchors Away

A week later, Zara’s friend Layla was raving about a new skincare set.
Zara opened the site:

❌ “Was £150”
✅ “NOW £29.99”
🛒 “Add to Basket”

Zara didn’t even need new skincare. She’d just bought three cleansers in a moment of emotional crisis two days ago.

But the anchor (👀 £150) made £29.99 look like she was saving money.

Spoiler: she wasn’t.

🎬 Scene 3: The Economist Boyfriend

Her boyfriend, Aadi, was an econ undergrad who loved correcting people at parties.
He watched Zara with one eyebrow raised.

“You’re a walking behavioural case study,” he said.
“You don’t maximise utility. You maximise aesthetic vibes.”

He took her to Tesco to prove his point.

“This,” he said, pointing to a tub, “says ‘80% fat-free.’ That’s called framing. If it said 20% fat, would you still buy it?”

Zara blinked.

“I feel psychologically attacked.”

🎬 Scene 4: Availability Bias & Designer Guilt

After hearing about a plane crash on the news, Zara cancelled her flight and booked a £96 train instead — for a 2-hour journey.

“I just… don’t feel safe,” she said.
“A train’s never fallen out of the sky.”

Another win for availability bias, baby. Fear over facts.

She also bought a designer belt the next week.
Did she need it? No.
Was it high quality? Also no.
Did it scream “I’m in my boss era”? Absolutely.

“You only bought that for social norms,” Aadi sighed.
“It’s just branding and FOMO.”

Zara adjusted her belt.

“Okay, but it’s giving economic signalling, and I respect that.”

🎬 Scene 5: Redemption Arc

But Zara wasn’t all chaos.
One day, she saw a man selling The Big Issue.
She didn’t hesitate. She handed over a fiver, no change needed.

“That,” said Aadi, watching, “was altruism. It doesn’t benefit you directly, but it benefits society.”

Zara smiled.

“Maybe I’m not a walking impulse. Maybe I’m just… a behavioural agent with depth.”

🧠 Moral of the Story (A-Level Style)

• ✅ Bounded rationality → Zara’s brain can’t process all choices = default decisions

• ✅ Bounded self-control → Zara makes impulse buys she regrets

• ✅ Biases → Anchoring, availability, and framing mess with her logic

• ✅ Social norms → Influenced her designer belt buy

• ✅ Altruism → Showed irrational but socially beneficial behaviour

• ✅ Traditional economics = 🤖 unrealistic

• ✅ Behavioural economics = 🧍‍♀️ Zara energy