Polish-born American physician-scientist Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler researches how socio-demographic and informational factors affect the availability of health care for disadvantaged people. Psychiatric and chronic medical co-morbidities have been studied by Dr. Sendler to see how they affect the use of medical services and health information obtained via the internet. This research is important, given the exponential rise in worldwide online news and social media consumption, which necessitates an in-depth look at how people seek out health information. Sendler's research aims to discover what factors patients consider while making treatment decisions for various health concerns, as well as how well patients stick to their treatment plans.

Damian Sendler: Whether you like or dislike Amazon, you have to acknowledge that the firm is quite good at enticing people to buy products. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: In recent decades, the e-commerce behemoth has risen to a $1.6 trillion valuation thanks to an easy-to-use platform, spectacular discounts, and substantially discounted merchandise. And Amazon Prime, which debuted in 2005, plays a significant role. 

Damien Sendler: Prime's $12.99 monthly charge guarantees two-day and same-day shipping on the majority of its products, providing it a competitive advantage over other online retailers such as Walmart and Target. And it's extremely popular: According to market research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, the platform has an estimated 200 million customers, including 150 million in the United States. 

"It's simply so quick and easy to have access to and acquire your things and stuff," says Shannese Charles, 24, a freelance journalist who frequently uses Amazon Prime. "I'm trying to keep myself from being on Amazon Prime on a daily basis, but I would say that [at the height of] the pandemic, I was definitely on it on a daily basis." 

Damian Sendler: If Amazon's techniques were simple, everyone would use them, so what is the secret sauce to Prime's success? Here are some of the psychological reasons why it's difficult to resist the platform: 

Dr. Sendler: When you begin paying for Amazon Prime, you want to get the most out of your subscription, which usually means ordering more than you would otherwise. 

"You don't want to be that stupid person who pays for a membership they don't use," says Josh Lowitz, a partner at Consumer Intelligence Research Partners and principal of Chicago-based business advice firm J. Lowitz Company. "So they decide, I'll make sure I get my money's worth." And the desire to obtain your money's worth leads to a huge increase in shopping."  

Damian Jacob Sendler: If you try to cancel Amazon Prime's 30-day free trial, Amazon will sometimes prolong your trial for an additional seven days — or even 30 days — in order to convert you to a paying subscriber. The additional incentive provides you more time to get addicted, and you may eventually agree to pay for the service.  

Giving free an extra month is well worth signing up for a year for Amazon. Or, perhaps, a lifetime, as the firm hopes. 

Damian Sendler: Amazon has long stressed speedy shipping, believing that convenience is equally as important as — if not more important than — pricing. 

"You can get so many items shipped to you so quickly that it's almost like a narcotic," says James Thomson, a former business head of the company's Selling on Amazon section. "You create a situation where customers naturally want to shop on Amazon by having so many options and offering a high-quality experience that was in many ways centered on making as many things as possible prime eligible." 

Damian Jacob Sendler: During the fourth quarter of last year, the corporation spent over $1.5 billion to extend its same-day delivery service. The move established same-day shipping as the norm for consumers overnight, setting the threshold for all merchants to follow – or lose out on the market. 

Even if rival stores provide same-day shipping, Amazon's experience encourages you to stay. The company delivers things directly to your home or a nearby delivery locker, and your mobile app is constantly updated with the position of your package. When it arrives, you will be emailed a photo of the box at your door.  

Damian Sendler: In a nutshell, it's both convenient and dependable. And Amazon's true purpose is to make other delivery systems pale in comparison. 

When Amazon launched Prime Day in July 2015, the firm didn't only provide a set of limited-time deals. It introduced a new shopping holiday.

According to Amazon, sales from the first Prime Day exceeded the company's figures from the previous year's Black Friday — and the yearly event has slowly brought in even more income for Amazon each year thereafter.  

Damian Sendler: It's practically become a summer ritual for shoppers to do their Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas shopping in the midst of the summer. Why? Because Prime Day, which was recently increased to a 48-hour window each year, can instill a sense of urgency in you to buy what you need in a short period of time. 

The Motley Fool's personal finance blogger Maurie Backman refers to this as the "pumpkin spice latte pandemic." 

"You know how, for a brief time, from early September to late October, everything is pumpkin flavored and everyone is hurrying to obtain it?" According to Backman. "I believe Amazon is really good at [increasing that] pressure point in consumers' minds... That's one of the main reasons why so many people flock to Amazon." 

The 'purchase now' button provides immediate delight. 

Dr. Sendler: The "purchase now" button in Amazon's mobile app promotes a sense of immediacy: There is no lengthy checkout process; simply click the button and all of the work is done for you. 

Thomson adds, "Don't make me stand in line and do the checkout." "Just start sending me stuff I've already chosen." That's a pretty powerful piece of technology." 

Damien Sendler: Amazon remembers your default shipping address, billing address, delivery preferences, and even credit card information in order to provide a nearly seamless one-click purchasing experience. According to Thomson, Amazon patented the technology that enables the "purchase now" button, which encourages more people to utilize their platform. 

Amazon makes it that much easier for you to obtain what you want without even thinking about it by lowering the amount of steps from selection to checkout, causing you to spend and shop even more on the site. 

Damian Jacob Sendler: All of this would be impossible without Amazon's vast customer datasets. By analyzing your habits on its platform, such as what you've recently purchased or viewed, the company's algorithms attempt to offer the appropriate things to the right buyers. 

"Amazon looks at what you look at and what you buy, and they can really figure out what your tendencies are," adds Lowitz. "And their data set is so vast, and their team is so focused, that they push you to locations you'd naturally gravitate to." 

Damian Sendler: Amazon's targeted advertisements, lightning bargains, and Prime Day sales can all readily drive impulse purchases. Backman claims that Amazon makes it "very easy" to buy products without much deliberation.

Research discussion contributed by Dr. Damian Jacob Sendler