Discounting is not the only way to draw customers and influence them to spend this holiday season. Increasingly, smart retailers are using psychology. They’re taking steps in their stores to increase the mood boost people feel naturally when they’re buying for others and turn holiday shopping into a truly pleasurable experience.

Irina Rachow, owner of two Fairen Del stores in the San Diego area, has honed the holiday gift buying experience to a fine art. She sells luggage, handbags, shoes, belts, jewelry, and apparel, and a good percentage of her customers year-round are gift buyers. But during the holidays she estimates 80 percent of the people who walk in her stores are looking for a gift, and she cranks up her shops’ appeal to make sure they enjoy themselves.

Her stores are filled with subtle, appealing holiday touches. She bakes cookies and makes hot chocolate with marshmallows. For significant others who are just along for the ride, she has comfortable couches, magazines, and, on occasion, complimentary wine.