Economists will tell you that consumer spending is the ticket to resuscitating the American economy. Researchers will tell you that receipt signatures are the ticket to consumer spending.

Republicans often complain that Obama spends recklessly. Could it be that he is simply at the mercy of all those daily signatures? (MANDEL NGAN - AFP/GETTY IMAGES) Wait. Come again?

According to research published in the current issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, shoppers who sign their names before visiting a store that sells products they identify with will browse longer in that store than they would have if they had not previously signed their name. Naturally, shoppers who browse longer in stores show a tendency to spend more than those who leave quickly.

“Signing your name impacts your subsequent shopping behavior by activating your ‘sense of self,’”said Keri Kettle, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Miami’s School of Business Administration who conducted the study. “So if a shopper signs for a credit card purchase in one store when buying something for her husband, for example, and walks into another store that she likes, she is going to linger longer than if she hadn’t just signed her name.”

Consumers need not worry that the so-called “signature effect” will cause them to overspend on family and friends this holiday season, as Kettle reported that the phenomenon only takes place in stores that sell products that shoppers are interested in for themselves. Thus, the effect is for the most part limited to evoking self-indulgent splurges.

Nevertheless, this may lead some retailers to a new strategy to woo customers: Ask them to sign a receipt, ask them to sign a survey, ask them to sign for a new rewards card. Heck, just make your customers sign something.

Neighboring store owners may thank you, and perhaps they’ll return the favor.

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