Retailers have a funny knack for making us spend more money than we’d originally planned. Sometimes the buyerâs remorse is real, and then other times we donât even realize weâve been swindled. As the saying âdonât judge a book by its coverâ goes, the same rules apply to many of the pricing schemes and different sales our favourite stores provide.
Next time you snatch up a couple of pairs of shoes during a BOGO deal or get excited when you see âup to 70% offâ signage, put your thinking cap on and deliberate whether or not youâre actually saving.
Here are sales tricks retailers use to get you to spend more money.
Bundle Purchases
Basically, all cell phone and internet providers use bundle purchases to lure you in. While at first glance $150 per month for 3 different services may seem like a good deal, itâs really just enticing you to purchase services you normally wouldnât use. Letâs be real: in this day and age, you really donât need a home phone line, do you?
BOGO
At surface value, BOGO seems like an incredible deal! Buy one item and get a second for free – how could that be a scam? Well, let me tell you. Similar to coupons, most of the time the sale is meant to entice us into buying something we werenât actually looking for. How many times have you bought shoes you didnât actually need because they were BOGO?
Customer Rewards
It may seem like no big deal to pick up a rewards card, swipe it at checkout, and get your points, but this is actually a major tactic that companies use to get you to spend more money. Although this encourages you to also spend your cash at the specific store when you shop, you’re also more likely to spend more money all in one go to be able to reach your next reward.
Coupon Savings
When we see coupons, we automatically assume weâre saving, but many times the deals arenât actually that good. A lot of times we are unaware of the original price and might be saving less than $1. Along with not really saving a whole lot, coupons also have a way of making us purchase things we would never normally buy at full price or even at sale price.
Misleading Sales Events
Misleading sales events are notorious for getting you into a store you hadnât planned on visiting; signs advertising an incredible sale like âeverything up to 70% off,â are hard to ignore. However, a lot of the time, most items are priced normally and the heavily reduced items are few and far between or located at the back of the store. Having to search for the sale items may entice you to purchase full-price items too, or even worse, instead.
Free Shipping Offers
If youâre shopping online, donât automatically assume that free shipping means youâre saving. While shipping costs are what deters a lot of people from purchasing online, free shipping usually comes with a catch. For example, in order to get said free shipping, you need to spend over $150. Youâll likely end up adding things to your cart you donât need.
Psychological Pricing
Psychological pricing is a lot like misleading sales events, in that it tricks you into making purchases. Donât discount the power of a price tag that reads $19.99 rather than $20! The difference of an extra cent allows us to categorize the item as under $20 in our mind, leaving out the specifics. Itâs actually quite common practice for retailers to use odd numbers to confuse us.
Essentials Are Usually Found Toward The Back
Placing the essentials near the back of the store, makes you walk throughout the entire space to get to your items. This makes it much more likely that you’ll spot something else that you’re interested in. Therefore, you’ll probably end up spending much more than you planned.
Up-selling Everything
People often downplay the power of words and language, but in terms of selling, they can make or break a sale. Many retailers specifically train employees to ask whether you want âan extra shot of espressoâ or âwhat else would you like?â rather than âdo you want anything else?â Unaware, we may end up spending more than planned because of these loaded questions.
Point-of-Sale Add-Ons
Point-of-sales add-ons are all those smaller items and accessories you find located specifically by the registers in stores. Most of the time, add-ons are cheap, or travel-size products. This tactic persuades you to impulse buy random things, and sometimes, like in the case of travel-size, things that arenât actually very good value. Next time youâre in a lineup and see something flashy, ask yourself whether or not you actually need it.
Articles You May Be Interested In:
How To Make Money While Online Shopping
Tips nâ Tricks for Shopping at Sephora
11 Thrift Store Shopping Tips To Help You Score The Best Stuff
7 Pro Tips For Saving Money Every Time You Shop Online
How To Shop Dixie Outlet Mall Like a Pro