Companies like Recyclebank, for example, use game incentives, like points and rewards, to prompt consumers to perform eco-friendly activities.
For that to happen, policy makers must ease monetary policy and bolster spending to prompt consumers and companies to spend.
The decline in the stock market may well prompt consumers to rein in their spending, keeping the economy from rebounding.
A food scare in one factory may prompt consumers to steer clear of similar products made by other firms, for example.
Game techniques, Mr. Duggan says, prompt consumers to spend more time on company Web sites, contribute more content and share more product information with Facebook and Twitter adherents.
But some analysts predicted that the new fees could prompt consumers to return to credit cards — a more lucrative alternative for the banks.
Investors have been concerned that a war with Iraq will prompt consumers and businesses to further clamp down on spending, slowing what is already a sluggish economy.
"It will prompt consumers to reach out to their local legislators and ask, 'what is our waste carrier doing about recycling?' " The experts do have quibbles.
For banks in Southern European countries, the proposed levy in Cyprus could also prompt consumers to move their money to more secure firms in countries like Germany or France.
Analysts say companies design these sophisticated ecosystems to prompt consumers to volunteer enough personal data — like their names, e-mail addresses and mobile numbers — so that marketers can offer them customized appeals any time, anywhere.
