Life is full of decisions – sometimes tough ones– but those decisions can be made easier for informed consumers and savvy marketers. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Rebecca Ratner, associate professor of marketing, talks about her how people can make better decisions and the ways in which they can be persuaded toward a particular decision.

Thursday, June 11, 2009, 7:30 p.m.Sunday, June 14, 2009, 7:30 a.m.Monday, June 15, 2009, 4:30 a.m. Life is full of decisions – sometimes tough ones– but those decisions can be made easier for informed consumers and savvy marketers.

Research by Rebecca Ratner

“When people do things alone, they enjoy themselves more than they expected,” Maryland Smith research finds. “People overestimate the benefits of being with someone else.”

Why are World Series tickets so popular, even among people who don't consider themselves Nats fans? The principles of scarcity are at work here, a Maryland Smith expert explains.

Consumers make more hedonic choices when their preferences are visible to others, so that they can promote the image that they are having fun — whether or not they really are.

Maryland Smith faculty share their best travel hacks, from traveling early to the best ways to tolerate traffic, to make your holidays easier.

Have a social outing coming up? Take a minute at the outset to make sure you're on the same page about what you each hope to get out of the experience. You'll have a better time, according to new research from Smith School professor Rebecca Ratner.

"Hell, no," said some on social media, of the new Amazon Key service, which grants delivery people access to your house. But experts predict that what they meant was: “Not yet. But soon, hell, yes.”

Many people feel embarrassed about doing fun activities alone. Companies that help solo consumers overcome their fears can tap into a vast and growing market.