Playing the Game: What a Hidden Shopping Strategy Reveals About System 1 Thinking

In a recent project, we uncovered something quietly powerful: consumers weren’t just buying a product, they were playing a game.  Not a game with rules or instructions, but an intuitive, emotionally charged game that shaped how they navigated choice

They rarely paid full price. Instead, they hunted for offers, not just to save money, but to win. The win wasn’t purely financial, it was psychological. They wanted to feel clever, discerning, and in control. The real prize? Getting something better  than they paid for. A product that looked or felt more premium, but still landed within their mental budget for what was ‘acceptable’

This wasn’t about rational comparison.  It was about instinct, emotion, and intuition, classic System 1 thinking.  But more than that, it was about strategy.  A subconscious one, yes, but a strategy nonetheless

System 1 as Strategy, Not Just Emotion

We often describe System 1 as fast, emotional, and automatic, but that can undersell its sophistication. What we saw in this project was System 1 behaving like a tactical operator. Consumers weren’t just reacting emotionally, they were navigating a landscape of perceived value, social cues, and internal heuristics

They had:

• A mental price anchor for what was ‘acceptable’

• A value radar tuned to spot deals that felt like upgrades

• A narrative lens that let them interpret a purchase as a win, even if the product wasn’t objectively better

This is System 1 not as impulse, but as intuitive mastery. It’s the kind of behaviour that’s hard to articulate, but deeply felt and it’s everywhere

Understanding the Game Consumers Play

What makes this insight powerful isn’t just that consumers are emotional, it’s that they’re playing. They’re engaging in a kind of psychological theatre where:

• Price becomes a proxy for quality, but only when it’s discounted

• Offers become a signal of opportunity, not compromise

• Winning means beating the system, not just saving money

This game is rarely verbalised. Ask them why they chose the product, and they’ll say ‘it was on offer.’  But the deeper truth is: ‘I felt like I outsmarted the system.’

Understanding this game means understanding:

• The rules they’ve invented (even if subconsciously)

• The emotional rewards they seek

• The identity signals they’re responding to, cleverness, taste, discernment

Why This Matters for Brands and Researchers

Customer closeness isn’t just about empathy, it’s about decoding the hidden logic of consumer behaviour. When we understand the games people play, we can design experiences that:

• Align with intuitive strategies, not just rational needs

• Signal value in emotionally resonant ways - through pricing, packaging, and positioning

• Create moments of ‘winning’ that build loyalty and satisfaction

This isn’t about manipulating emotion. It’s about respecting the intelligence of System 1 and designing for it