Common Tactics Stores Use To Trick Us Into Buying More Things
I was raised by a mother who refused to buy anything non-essential unless it was on sale, so it's second nature for me to work hard to snag good bargains.
In such a competitive consumer market, however, stores and companies have had to up their game to catch shoppers' attention, and not all items and deals are as sweet as they seem on the surface.
Here are some of the common tactics stores use to trick customers into making more purchases.
Mannequins Have Clothes Perfectly Pinned In Place To Look Their Best
Have you ever walked past a store, seen something you liked on a mannequin, but were horrified by how bad it looked on you in the fitting room? That's because the clothes on mannequins are pinned to create the illusion of a perfect fit.
Melting Sales Are Used To Psychologically Trick Customers
A melting sale is a tactic where sale discounts will decrease over a period of time. For example, 30% will apply for a day, then drop to 25% the next, and then 20% and so on. This activates what psychologists call "loss aversion" which makes us scared to miss out on something—and increases the likelihood of a purchase.
Store Windows Advertise Discount Percentages, Not Prices
By keeping prices a mystery until potential buyers enter the store and browse the merchandise, stores avoid having customers get discouraged as they compare their spending ability to the cost of goods.
Loyalty Programs And Gift Bonuses
Companies with loyalty programs will give repeat customers incentives to buy more by offering a reward, such as a discount on every 10th purchase. This tactic convinces people to buy more while waiting for a more "profitable" discount in the future.
Sale Prices Decrease As You Move Deeper Into The Store
A store, when having a sale, will place the items with the greatest sale markdowns near to the front, so customers will be more enticed by the discount and come inside. As they move deeper into the store, the sale discounts slowly decrease.
Window Displays Are Designed Very Purposefully
Window display mannequins have their outfits carefully picked out to not only coordinate well with each other, but also to represent a whole spectrum of what the store offers. By putting up mannequins in different styles of clothes, you attract shoppers who match the entire range of your offerings.
Outlets Have Lower-Quality Clothing Than Regular Stores
You might love to hit up the outlet malls in hopes of snagging items from your favorite brands at a better price, but that's not quite the case. While the designs will be similar or the same, the products sold at outlet stores are often more cheaply made than their regular store counterparts.
Bottleneck The Fitting Rooms
Large stores with multiple fitting rooms might keep the line for the fitting room a bit long by having one closed down during a big sale. Impatient shoppers who aren't willing to wait out the line will often make the purchase anyway with the justification that they "could always return it" (which often doesn't happen).
What's Red, White, And Successful All Over The Industry?
Marketers most often use the psychologically tested and confirmed combination of colors that elicits a response from even skeptical buyers: red and white. Most sale signs will take on this color combo, while stores that want to stand out or take risks might opt for other options.
The "Store's Birthday" Sale Is Generally In The Off-Season
Tides of sales tend to ebb and flow, so the "store's birthday" is generally celebrated during a period of low sales without any relevance to the actual opening date. During this time, mostly unpopular or unsold goods are presented to customers.
Pricing Strategies Convince You That You're Paying Less
Why do you think so many products are sold for $_.99? While there's only a one-cent difference between $19.99 and $20.00, our minds naturally latch onto the fact that the price is still under $20.
Discounts 70% And More Are To Get Rid Of Stock
These types of sales tend to take place at the end of the season and are meant to clear out the remaining stocks. While the prices seem too good to pass up, they are often selling styles that will be outdated by the next season (or year).
Email Subscriptions For Loyalty Members
Joining a loyalty program also often involves needing to provide the retailer with your email. This way, they can directly send you targeted ads to inform you of all new sales, prompting shoppers to look at their in-store/online products and increase the chances of purchase completion.
Storefront Appearance Is Based On Level Of Luxury
High-end stores tend to opt for a more modest look during sale seasons that might include a single sign outside mentioning a sale, whereas mass-market shops and lower-end stores plaster their windows with sale signs emphasizing the savings.
Sales Offering 20–30% Off Are Made To Increase Demand
Stores will offer sales in this range, often after going into a lull after dropping a new collection, in order to increase demand for their products. Alternatively, this sale range is often used at the beginning of a major sale at the end of a season. Often, if you wait, you can get a deeper discount.
Promo Set Discounts Are A Way To Get Rid Of Unwanted Items
A set that's marketed as six items together for a particular price may seem like a huge discount, but in reality, it is merely a tactic to get rid of items that aren't selling well individually. The set might include one or two desirable items, but the rest will be "leftovers."
After Season, Items Are Often Relocated
Unsold items from high-end stores are often shipped to outlets to get a second life with a new set of customers. Stores will often also reach out to influencers with leftover products for them to promote in hopes of securing a few more sales.
Per-Customer Limits Create A Sense Of Scarcity
Stores will often put a limit on how many sale items one person can buy. It implies that the item is in high demand and encourages customers to purchase more of that one item than they normally would.
Put The Staples And Basics To The Back
Stores tend to put the "necessity" items—like eggs, milk, and meat—at the back, so shoppers are forced to navigate through all the other items and perhaps make impulse buys. It's the same reason the checkout is often at the back of clothing stores.
Show Images Of Happy People
Using posters that depict happy people in store windows and inside stores actually psychologically influences shoppers to believe that purchasing from this store will make them happier and increases sales.
Unsold Stock Is Sometimes Burned
Some brands (especially luxury ones) will burn excess stock at the end of its selling life. In order to reserve their reputation as a "luxurious" brand and continue the façade of demand, these brands will not donate items to the needy or send them to outlets.
Burberry has burned about $37 million worth of unsold items, and Abercrombie and Fitch came under fire for refusing to donate clothes to shelters.
Some Old Items Are Resold As "New" Ones
Basic items from old collections occasionally get a slight "update" in order to better match the current fashion trends and are re-marketed as part of the new collection and placed in a different part of the store.
Displays Are Organized Around Best-Sellers
Best-selling items won't all be located in one area of the store, but instead scattered among less popular items. Not only does this make the best items stand out more to interested shoppers, but it forces customers to spend more time looking around.
Some Old Items Just Come Back Into Style
Trends move quickly, especially in the fast-fashion industry, so items are often boxed away in warehouses and brought back to the racks as "new products" once the trend comes back into style years later.
Price Juxtaposition Of Similar Items
When looking through clothing displays, a particular sweater might catch your eye, but will shock you with a price like $100. Most retailers will place a similar-style sweater next to it that costs only a fraction of that price, giving you the illusion of a bargain.
In-Store Music Matters
Slower songs or nostalgic songs have the psychological tendency to make us feel calmer and encourage shoppers to linger. Comparatively, restaurants will often play faster music to increase your heart rate so you eat more quickly.
Gender-Focused Merchandise
While the formulas might be the same—because, really, how is body lotion for men any different than for women?—in order to force one side to pay more for a product, companies will brand certain products differently. Men will pay more for "male" versions of traditionally "feminine" products (hair products, skincare, etc.), while women will do the same with "masculine" products (razors, shaving cream, etc.).
