Not only the location of every item in the store, but even the smells and sounds - everything is carefully thought out so that you spend more. Here are some of the clever psychological tricks that salespeople use to get you to make purchases - often those that you never intended to make.
These insidious 99 kopecks
Do not fall for the common seller's trick - prices ending in 9, 99 or 95. These numbers make our brain perceive the price lower than it actually is: for example, 199 rubles seems closer to us to a hundred, although in fact it is twice as much.
Cheap bait
It is no coincidence that the first thing you see in a store is the big letters "Sale" or the markdown items. In retail, these little impulse purchases are called "wallet openers" and are designed to break your psychological barrier and make you part with your money more easily.
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Delicious smells
When you enter the grocery store, you immediately smell freshly baked bread or aromatic grilled chicken. The sellers know very well that these smells make your salivary glands work. This, in turn, makes you a much less “disciplined” buyer. By the way, grocery stores aren't the only ones using this trick. Scientists conducted a simple experiment and found out: in a home appliance store that smelled of apple pie, sales of stoves and refrigerators increased by 23%.
Slow music
In many stores, music sounds much slower than your heartbeat. This makes you spend more time in the store and buy 29% more.
You can touch anything
One study found that shoppers who were allowed to see and touch products were willing to pay 40-60% more for them than those who only saw the products in photographs or only read descriptions for them.
Other research confirms that the more time you spend “together” with a product, the more likely you are to end up buying it. It's no wonder why car dealers are always happy to offer their buyers a test drive.
More products for less price
When a store offers three-for-two stocks, sales will usually skyrocket, even if the price not only does not fall, but even rises as a result. Our brains see an obvious good deal, but we rarely start calculating the real price of such a purchase. On this and the calculation.
Numbers only - no currency symbols
The next time you eat at a restaurant, look out for the missing ruble, dollar or euro signs. According to one study, visitors spend much less when words or currency symbols are used on menus than if they only contain numbers. Not seeing this physical reminder of the disappearance of money from your wallet, the brain distances itself from it, which makes you pay more.
Large baskets and carts
Just as nature abhors emptiness, so the buyer abhors an empty basket. They are the ones who encourage people to buy more. Big carts are even more seductive, forcing us to make impulse purchases.
In one experiment, grocery store sellers doubled the size of their carts to see if people would buy more. It turned out that there really will be - to be precise, by as much as 19% more.
Loyalty cards and discounts for regular customers
It would seem that they bring benefits and give us the opportunity to save our money. But in fact, if you are the owner of such a card, then know: all your purchases are tracked and often used to make you buy even more. So, for example, if you see that a pack of chocolate bars costs "only" 299 rubles, you will buy it exactly at this price, even if you do not need the candies at all now.
Color matters too
The red color activates the parts of the brain that are responsible for the feeling of celebration and positive emotions. For example, waitresses who wear red uniforms receive 14-26% more tips than those who wear other colors.
Shopping crowds are not in your best interest
Research shows that most consumers buy more when the store is full because they subconsciously don't want to "separate from the crowd." Mondays and Tuesdays are generally the best shopping days. But on weekends, going to the store is best avoided.
Discount coupons are nothing more than a myth
Coupons may offer you money savings, but they're really just a publicity stunt to get you to buy an expensive and often unnecessary item. A 2003 New York study found that customers with coupons spent an average of $ 2.28 per item on average, while those without coupons opted for cheaper products at an average price of 2, 07 dollars. As noted in the study, if you already have a coupon for an expensive product, then with a high degree of probability you will buy it.
Free cheese isn't just in a mousetrap
Agree, it's nice when from the doorway you are offered to try something tasty. But shops lure us with sweets for a reason. According to one study, shoppers expressed a greater desire to buy luxury products, such as fashion watches, laptops, or designer clothes, after a single chocolate candy that sellers kindly offered them. Unsurprisingly, most Lindt luxury chocolate stores offer free samples of their products to every customer right away.
Sizes and volumes are decreasing every day
Beware of new packaging! Before you put a pretty bottle of shampoo or gel in the basket, check its volume - you may find yourself paying the same money as before (or even more) for less volume. One of the manufacturers' tricks to mask the actual packaging shrinkage is the dimple at the bottom.
Perfect service
Never agree to try on clothes that you don't need. As a rule, a customer who communicates with a store employee and asks questions buys twice as much as the one who bypasses the staff.
Everything for your comfort
You, of course, have noticed that most clothing and household goods stores display benches and chairs in the aisles for tired customers (most often husbands and children). But what you didn’t notice is that just opposite these “islands of relaxation” there are often goods that the store wants to get rid of as soon as possible.
Only today and only now
By letting you know that this purchase can only be made for a limited time and at this “incredibly good price,” sellers are encouraging you to make a decision. Do you really need this thing?
Diana Kudryavykh