If you are planning for a hefty shopping this festive season, either offline or online, then ensure that you don’t fall prey to the retailer tricks, which may ultimately cost you higher even when you believe that you are availing some amazing offers.
You may be coming across the amazing offers like “buy one and get another one for 50%”, “but two get one free” etc., which may not be really some excellent offers. Say for example, when we split the offer, buy one and get a second one for 50%, the first one offers a 25% discount whereas the latter price covers both the items.
Further, in this article, we will discuss such retailers tricks, which you may try to avoid while planning your shopping binge the next time.
1. Decoy pricing
This is a very common tactic used by many retailers. A product which they try to promote worth a particular price tag may be placed next to those with half of its price and also a little more than it, so you think it’s a good deal to pick this one. This is a calculated diversion to give a feel that the expensive items are more economical. You can find this same tactic used in some restaurants too, where the menu may list the costly items close to the cheaper ones.
2. Open your wallet
You may have noticed that there could be many small items at the check-out counters like some low-priced fancy items, wallets, snacks, or chocolates, etc. In fact, these are placed there for some reason. Once after an exhaustive session o shopping, you may easily fall prey to these if lacking a little self-control in spending habits. It is easier for one at that position to pick some small items or chocolate.
3. Gruen transfer
Sometimes you may feel yourself getting lost at the big stores or malls. This is also intentional. This strategy is named after Victor Gruen, the famous mall architect, which is about building the structures which may confuse the shoppers. This will end up in making them buy more than they need through some impulse buying. Crossing the same spot you’d gone through may make you less price-sensitive through price familiarity and tend to pick it up ultimately.
4. Bag snare
Have you ever wondered why a carry bag or trolley is given to you instantly as you enter into a supermarket or a cloth store? Once if you have this stuff in hand, it is highly likely that you may buy a few things. Adding to it, these articles will also create a loss aversion bias on you, which means The longer you hold items in your possession, the more intensive sense of loss you may feel while parting with it. So, if you are not biased for it, then ditch the bag.
5. Denomination effect
This is one of the most exploited cognitive bias of the shoppers. This is by making a person less willing to use any higher denomination note than an alternative lower one. Sometimes, you may not want to buy a big shampoo bottle worth $20. Instead, you may instantly choose a smaller one which is worth $10. Shops tend to display more of such items. This is one major reason why you tend to buy candy at the payment counter.
6. Dynamic pricing
This is another most common trickery by the retailers by offering a different price to different customers based on their demand. When doing online purchasing, if you spend much time on a website, you may be offered items with a higher price as opposed to the places where you tend to spend a shorter period. This is based on the browsing history of the users and their spending patterns. Dynamic pricing is much easier to do online. In order to avoid this, you may develop a practice of erasing cookies, browse incognito, and also always log out of your accounts once done. However, you may make use of better practices like using Dillards promo codes and other smart online purchase tips to save money.
7. Eyelevel products
This may not be a very frequent case, but some retailers try this effectively. The products which are kept at your eye level may have been priced costlier, and more also felt to be profitable than those on the bottom or higher racks. Similar to this, games, toys, and other items can be found at a lower level to be in line with kid’s sizes and ages. Stores also tend to move customers based on their normal movement of right to left as most of the users are right handed and find it easier to grab things as they scroll past the aisles.
8. Essential items at the far end
You may have noticed that the essential food items would have been placed at the far end of the grocery stores so that you have to cross all the aisles loaded with other items to reach to what you want. All these aisles would be holding more attractive stuff, which can surely grab your attention. So, even if you have little attention to pick anything than the essential food items, you may be tempted to halt for a minute when you come comes across something attractive.
9. Discounts
As we have seen above, the ‘Buy one, get another at 50% off’ and the traps like buy one get one free, etc. may not always be beneficial. You have to be very careful about such deals than just grabbing it in the first place. On the online stores, they tend to keep the validity of such offers so limited in order to give you a sense of urgency than rethinking.
10. Small packages may sell big
You may think that you are making a better saving by choosing items which come in packs. Say, for example, a six-pack juice carton or 4-pack probiotic, etc. However, think twice before picking those up. Research has shown that by doing this, you tend to end up in consuming more over a lesser period of time, which is a smart way to make you spend more each time. So, unless you have a bulk requirement, don’t go for these ‘felt economical’ bigger packs.
Being knowledgeable about these will help you to be more conscious while at the shops and make your best-informed decision than falling in for the trickery of the shops.