Smile... you could get a discount! Sellers give you cheap deals if you're cheerful, research finds

Happiness is so infectious that it makes sellers drop their prices when faced with a cheerful customer, according to research.

Smiling customers were able to barter for price reductions of almost ten per cent, while angry or disgusted buyers had to pay the full prices.

Researchers carried out six experiments involving buying products online and in person, the journal Sage Open reported. 

In one, shops were asked to repair or replace a broken phone. 

Some phones carried a label reading 'I am a happy person' – which led to an average eight per cent price reduction.

The happiness premium ranged from five to nine per cent in person and around three per cent online.

The researchers from the Ruppin Academic Centre, Israel, said the happiness premium contrasts with the profit-driven view of mainstream economics'.

'Policymakers should aim at educating people about the economic consequences of expressing happiness publicly,' they said. 

'We suggest that 'buying with a smile' should be promoted as a strategy.'