You know you’ve done it. You go into a store intending to buy just one item—an hour later you emerge with several bulging bags, a receipt as tall as you are, and more than just a twinge of guilt. You had such good intentions, too; you were going to be unshakable this time! What happened?
Don’t feel too bad; it was only partly your fault. Unfortunately for you, retailers have been studying you—well, shoppers like you—for years and have found dozens, maybe hundreds, of ways to get you to spend more than you plan to. Well, their tricks aren’t a secret anymore. Here are five common ways retailers reel you in.
1. Price Points
The next time you’re in Walmart, head to the toaster section. You’ll likely find one little-known brand of toaster that is ridiculously cheap next to several well-known brands. The trick here is that the cheapest toaster seems questionable because it’s an unknown brand, and the lower price leads shoppers to think that all of the toasters are a bargain. So they opt for a name-brand toaster, thinking they are getting a deal. Before you shop, know what prices items are going for so you don’t get duped.
Some businesses use the opposite trick. A restaurant, for example, might have an item that is priced much higher than anything else, so that when you look at the other options on the menu you feel like you’re being frugal. So you’ll have the $50 steak and, heck, add an extra side of potatoes and the stuffed mushroom appetizer. It’s not like you’re getting the $100 lobster plate or something.
2. Misleading Signs
Another trick of the retail trade is to create signs that are misleading and sometimes mean nothing at all. For example, take a sign that says “Everything in the store up to 30% off or more!” What does that mean?
Nothing.
Really. It means that an item could be 30% off—or it could be 0% off or 100% off. The store could be paying customers to take items off their hands, or it could be doubling all the prices. You can’t tell from the sign. But retailers know that shoppers see “% off” and start drooling.
Another common sign to see in store windows is “Closing Sale! Everything Must Go!” This sign plays on human obsession with getting a deal, making them feel that they will miss out if they don’t buy something RIGHT NOW! This is fine—as long as the store really is closing. One store in London has been advertising their closing sale for the last six years!
3. Coupons
There’s really no reason to shop at Bath & Body Works other than during their semi-annual sale, right? $3 lotions? I’ll take 20! But then that shifty-looking employee at the checkout slyly places an irresistible coupon in your bag that isn’t good until next month. Now you have to come back.
You get home, check your email, and, look, you’ve got five more emails with coupons. They got you. When you paid for your twelve bottles of Sweet Pea body wash they asked for your phone number and email in that deceptively authoritative voice that made you think you had to provide that information. Now you’ll definitely be back next month; you don’t want those coupons to go to waste.
That sneaky, heavenly-scented store.
4. Scents
Speaking of scents, have you ever walked by a store that is emitting an aroma that conjures images of hundreds of Keebler elves baking several tons of fragrant fudge cookies?
Well, you may be disappointed to learn that the magical smell emanating from the store is probably just plain ol’ canned air. Scents play a large role in how a shopper feels about a store and its product. That’s why some European baby shops add baby powder to their air conditioning to remind shoppers of newborns and relax them. Supermarkets pump the smell of baking bread into the air to give the illusion that their bread is baked fresh all day, and electronics stores use the smell of vanilla to make women feel more comfortable.
On a similar note, other stores blast cool or warm air (depending on the weather) over their doors to attract customers. For those shopping in the winter in Toronto, heating is a very enticing way of bringing a customer into the store and keeping him there.
5. Product Placement
It seems like any time you’re shopping for something you really need, it just happens to be at the back of the store. That’s no coincidence. Supermarkets put the essentials like bread and milk at the back so you have to walk past aisles of tantalizing junk food to get to them. Changing rooms are also placed at the back of stores so that by the time you get there, you somehow have six extra shirts to try on.
When you do find the display you’re looking for, you may find it a bit disorganized. This is done to benefit the store in one of two ways. Dollar stores, for example, know that there is something about a perfectly organized display that makes customers not want to touch it and mess it up, so the store does it for them. Clothing stores, on the other hand, actually use messy clearance sections to discourage you from spending time there and cause you to move over to the full-priced items.
The list of retailer tricks goes on and on. Colors (light purple supposedly makes people feel like spending money), flooring (small tiles make a lot of clicking under carts so shoppers slow down), and many other devices work together to trap shoppers in stores and get them to spend much more than they had intended. Now that you know that retailers rope you in, be smart about your shopping and avoid these tempting traps.
Edson Senna is a freelance writer who specializes in finance and business. He enjoys learning businesstips from companies like A Plus Quality, Inc. In his spare time, Edson can be found biking, running, and looking for deals at his local thrift store.
via:http://www.cheapstuff.com/blog/2014/02/03/5-dirty-little-retailer-tricks/
No comments:
Post a Comment