As shoppers prepare for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season, it can be easy for people to rack up debt that will weigh on them in the new year. Therefore, it would be beneficial to be aware of some of the tactics used by retailers to get consumers to spend.
For example, most offers that offer savings in the form of free shipping or free gifts don't save you money if you spend over a certain amount. Practice, called “spawning” According to personal finance experts, consumers rarely benefit from spending more to save.
“I understand the appeal of going to checkout and a notification comes up saying spend $10 more to get some benefits,” Jacob Channell, senior economist at LendingTree, told CBS MoneyWatch. “But 90% of the time when you break it down, it doesn't make sense. If you're spending more of it you're not really saving money.”
Here are five tactics retailers use to get you to spend more, according to the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a consumer advocacy group.
create a false sense of urgency
The fear of missing out on a good deal can motivate consumers to make a quick purchase. Although some offers are actually only valid for a limited time, the US PIRG identified several sellers on Etsy, an e-commerce site for independent crafters, who used fake countdown clocks to solicit never-ending deals. Were.
According to PIRG, 80% of the 20 best-selling products on sites with countdown timers on deals simply reset when their tickers reached “0”. Study,
“The 'limited' time window may not be as limited as it seems and deals may not be as good as they seem,” RJ Cross of US PIRG told CBS MoneyWatch. “Make your list, compare those items, and don't get distracted by offers you don't have time to think about.”
sign of deficiency
“Fast Sale!” on online retailer products. Can be labeled. Or, when a consumer is considering a purchase, display how many other consumers are browsing the same item.
“Retailers and advertisers are always trying to get you to buy more than you need and spend more than you want to,” Cross said in a statement. “Once you know what to look for, you'll be able to laugh when you see these tricks instead of falling for them.”
Pricing Tips
Have you ever wondered why the price is written as $4.99 and not just $5? PIRG notes that when sellers lower the price of an item, it suggests to buyers that it is cheaper. Although $4.99 is only a penny less than $5, a buyer is more likely to focus on the dollar figure – $4 – than the cents.
According to PIRG, even removing the comma from a high sticker price like $1,200 and displaying it as $1,200 could entice someone to pull the trigger. Meanwhile, breaking the cost of an item into monthly installments can make the price appear lower than it actually is, the organization said.
“You still have to pay full price, and sometimes Even more in late feesIf you're not careful,” Cross said.
Doubtful Testimonials
Many retailers offer online testimonials from customers raving about a “life-changing” vacuum cleaner or pair of sweatpants. PIRG said that some of these accounts are from real customers, while other reviews cannot be trusted because they were created by a bot or the company itself.
Overall, this is a form of peer pressure – buyers are subtly led to think that purchasing the product will make them as happy as the satisfied customers depicted in the testimonials. In fact, many online reviews are fake, especially due to the proliferation of AI bots.
“When you look at reviews on a product, don't necessarily take the star rating lightly. It's better to look at the comments and look for ones that seem genuine – ones that either include a picture of the product or are specific to a particular Get to the point. Product instead of a generic note like 'Great product!'” Cross recommends.
fear based appeal
Many marketing pitches and advertisements suggest that if you don't make a purchase your life will somehow get worse, ranging from home invasions to hair loss. With e-commerce, of course, such messages are tailored to your personal interests and tastes, as website cookies track your browsing patterns and share them with retailers.
“Messages about how to fix our perceived imperfections become more able to find us at all hours of the day, whenever we're online,” Cross said.