Nudge

I recently finished the book Nudge: Improvng Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness by Thaler and Sunstein (if you haven't read it, I reccommend you check it out). After digesting the book in a six page book report, I have found myself catching inconspicuous "nudges" everywhere. I'd like to share some of my recent discoveries:

• Grocery Stores: The new Safeway store in town has healthy food nudges all over the store. If a customer walks in the the left door, they enter directly into the produce department. The produce department is the most open area in the store. The fruits and vegtables are the main color source in this area. As you move to the back of the store toward the milk, there are racks in the isle way with bannans. So, even if someone bypasses the produce department, they are bound to come across some fresh food somewhere in the store. 
• Overdraft Protection: As a former bank teller, I could tell endless stories of upset customers about overdraft protection. Few people notice that overdraft protection is an opt-out default. This means that if you do nothing, you are automatically enrolled in this "expensive when used" service. Banks are nudging customers to participate in overdraft protection ( a great revenue scheme for banks). 

Take a look around, nudges are everywhere! The examples provided above give evidence that nudges can be a good and bad thing for consumers. Simply being aware of the nudges may be the key to finding a way to listen to the good nudges, and ignore the bad nudges.