Get your customers relaxed, and they will see your products as more valuable. WHY? Physiologically and psychologically, it’s complicated. Suffice to say a Columbia University study recently discovered that more relaxed people considered a paper shredder to be 39 percent more valuable than less relaxed people. Similarly, the relaxed people deemed a digital tire gauge 19 percent more valuable. HOW? Pleasant music, enticing aromas, supportive words, a beverage offered upon arrival, warm lighting — how you foster a relaxing atmosphere is up to the personality of your store. SOURCE: Harvard Business Review Daily Stat, Oct. 24, 2011