Surely many of you have noticed a rather interesting feature of many large supermarkets: as soon as you go for a chocolate bar or a bottle of water, you are already pulling a huge cart of goods to the checkout. A marketing move is a very tricky and clever thing that can make a buyer buy a product that he did not even plan to do. How does this happen?
Of course, you have already figured them out, but let's repeat …
Tempting prices
Have you ever wondered why the price difference between small (say $ 3) and average (say $ 7) is greater than the price difference between medium and high ($ 8)? This is because people are more likely to buy large, thinking they are making a bargain, because it is only a dollar more expensive than the average. This is called the decoy effect. In essence, companies are introducing a slightly cheaper "bait" to make buying the most expensive item seem like a bargain.
MIT professor Dan Ariely has done research that illustrates the decoy effect. Taking his students as test subjects, he divided them into two groups. Both groups were offered subscriptions to The Economist magazine. Group A was offered an electronic subscription for $ 59 and a combined electronic and print subscription for $ 125. 68% of its students opted for a cheaper online subscription.
For Group B, he offered other subscription options, namely an electronic subscription for $ 59, a print subscription for $ 125, and a combined electronic and print subscription for $ 125. This time, 84% of students opted for the more expensive electronic and print subscriptions, thinking they were making a very profitable choice. As a result, the simple introduction of "bait" allowed us to increase sales by as much as 30%!
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Drop the dollar sign
We've all seen these chic menus in trendy restaurants with dollar signs in front of the prices. But it's not about style. This should make you spend more money.
According to scientists at Cornell University, restaurant customers spend 8% more money if the dollar symbol is omitted in front of the menu. University professor Sherrill Cimes explained this as follows: "Mentioning dollars, in words or symbols, reminds people of the 'pain of paying' (bill)."
Using small tiles on the floor
The recent rise in online shopping has forced brick-and-mortar stores to look for ways to maintain their bottom line. As a result, they began to use creative approaches.
A recent study of more than 4,000 shoppers by Nico Höwink, professor at the IESEG School of Management in France, found that “closely spaced horizontal lines on the floor slow down the speed of shoppers down the aisle, encouraging them to look at products and buy more. If you increase the distance between the lines, customers will move faster and buy less.” He also noted that stores tend to use smaller tiles in aisles with more expensive items and larger tiles in areas where they try to minimize crowding, such as near entrances.
Prices ending in nines
In 2005, researchers at New York University conducted a study that found that prices ending in nines have an incredible effect, which they called the "left-digit effect on price perception." They explain this by the fact that, since we read from left to right, we primarily perceive the first digit in the price. Subconsciously, our brain considers $ 2.99 to be closer to $ 2, not $ 3.
The effect of such prices was demonstrated in a study by professors from the University of Chicago and MIT. Scientists took a piece of women's clothing and displayed it at different prices: $ 34, $ 39.99 and $ 44. Oddly enough, this item was the most in demand at $ 39.99, although that's $ 6 more than the lowest price!
10 for $ 10
How many of us saw the $ 10 sign in the supermarket and loaded our cart? It's safe to say that many of us have done this. But did you know that often you don't have to borrow ten units to make a bargain?
In many cases, $ 10 for 10 is just another form of $ 1 for 1. However, according to William Poundstone, author of Priceless. The myth of a fair price (and how to use it to your advantage)”, many people end up buying more goods than they need.
Rude sellers
You probably think that a polite salesperson will do more good for the company. But recent discoveries by scientists at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business suggest otherwise. According to these scientists, the more rude the staff in high-end stores, the higher the profit.
Basically, people who shop in luxury stores want to fit in with the elite. These buyers think that the seller is rude to them, because they do not yet have an expensive item, and that by buying it, they will become members of a select society. Interestingly, scientists have found that this phenomenon is not observed among buyers in regular supermarkets.
The quantity of goods is limited
We've all been to the supermarket and saw great deals. The only downside is that a limited number of items can be borrowed by one customer: a gallon of milk for just $ 1.99, but only four gallons per hand. But this limitation is not due to a lack of milk. It's just that it is an effective technique for getting people to buy more goods than they need.
This technique makes buyers think that this product is in great demand and that it is not enough. So they end up buying four gallons of milk, when they usually only need one or two gallons of milk.
The illusion of scarcity was demonstrated in a 1975 psychological study. In this experiment, the researchers showed subjects two identical cans of cookies. There were ten in one can, and only two in the other. Subjects considered biscuits in nearly empty jars to be more valuable, believing that they should be, since there is less of it.
Using small fonts
Let's say you are a store manager and want to advertise a sale. You may be selling a sweater, which usually costs $ 50, for only $ 30. While you might want to write $ 30 in large, bold type, research suggests that the sale price type should actually be smaller than the regular price type.
This is because our brains subconsciously associate a smaller font with a lower price. Scientists call this "consistency in the representation of a quantity." A 2005 study by professors at Clark University and the University of Connecticut found that, compared to shoppers who see the sale price in a large print, people who see the same price in a smaller print are more likely to buy the item. …
Using a large number of adjectives
Restaurants have two types of menus: some simply list the dishes, while others provide detailed descriptions.
And restaurateurs don't just write descriptions so you know what you're eating. It also helps them increase their bottom line. According to a study by Cornell University and the University of Illinois at Uraban-Champaign, such menus increased sales by 27%, compared to menus without detailed descriptions.
Interestingly, the most effective way to describe menu items and boost sales is to brand the ingredients used.
Eye contact
In a 2014 study, researchers at Cornell University and T. H. Chan's Harvard School of Public Health examined 65 different cereals in 10 different stores. They looked at their position on store shelves and concluded that child-friendly cereals were placed just above their eye level.
But why not at eye level? It turns out that "the characters depicted on the boxes look at the children at an angle of 9.6 degrees"; this gives children the impression that their favorite characters are looking directly at them.
Scientists also conducted a second study, which showed that children like cereal more (28%) if the character depicted on the box looks into their eyes.
They make you associate red with discounts
Often, supermarkets are already covered with advertisements outside, where you can see discounts highlighted in color. In our minds, the red price tag has long been associated with price reductions. However, you should be careful - such colored price tags do not always mean more profitable purchases: the price can be reduced slightly or even sometimes remain unchanged. But at the same time, the consumer is still disposed to buy goods with such price tags because of the already established association.
They make carts too big
Shopping carts were invented in 1938. Moreover, the area of a conventional trolley has doubled over the past 40 years. And almost always they are much larger than the “consumer basket” of the average family. If we are carrying a half-empty cart, then purely at the subconscious level, we have a desire to fill it. You end up buying more food than you need. Therefore, if you do not want to run into the store for a long time, it is better to take a basket. Thus, you will kill two birds with one stone: you will save money, and the shopping bag will be easier.
Fruits and vegetables are usually found at the entrance to the store
Researchers tested buyers' willpower. It turned out that it is enough to give a person the opportunity to first do what, in his opinion, is “good”, so that later he himself begins to actively go beyond his own limits. That is why supermarket owners place healthy fruits and vegetables right at the entrance: the more money a customer spends on healthy foods, the more he will buy harmful products, such as beer and chips.
They hide dairy products in the back of the store
Salespeople use a ton of tricks to get us to buy more. Years of research have yielded a ton of tricks that are used all over the place, and which we don't even know about. To illustrate more clearly, let's think about why milk, the most sought-after product, is always at the farthest end of the supermarket? And the point is not that refrigerators are located there, but that they want you to go past the rest of the products in search of milk.
They create the illusion that their fruits and vegetables are fresh
In most supermarkets, the vegetables and fruits in the vegetable section are washed and polished to a shine. Moreover, they are often sprayed with water, despite the fact that they will rot faster this way. Why? Because people love everything fresh, and in the brain it is associated with a shiny, moist surface. In addition, certain substances are specially used in supermarkets to maintain the appetizing appearance and color of fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, the “fresh” fruits and vegetables that you buy in the supermarket could have been in the warehouse for a month before, and after that they will lie in your refrigerator for a couple of days before being eaten.
They try to attract you with flowers
As soon as you walk into the supermarket, your senses are delighted by the smell of flowers and colorful fruits in the vegetable section. This automatically triggers the release of the pleasure hormone "dopamine", and you are in a pleasant shopping anticipation. From here to the purchase is not even a step, but a half step. Council. Smell and enjoy, but remember what you really need to buy. Bring your shopping list out to the light of God and re-read it.
They make you feel hungry
Many supermarkets have pastries at the entrance. The smell of fresh baked goods activates the salivary glands, and you want to buy this yummy immediately. In addition, some supermarkets set up small counters, offering customers to taste this or that product. It is always surprising how many people buy a product just because they feel obligated or hungry. Remember, you don’t owe anything to anyone, and to avoid a "hungry" purchase, it is better to have a snack before going to the store.
He makes you walk everywhere
Essential foods such as bread, milk and eggs are scattered throughout the store for you to walk around for longer, making spontaneous, rash purchases along the way. You are sure that you yourself choose your route through the supermarket. In fact, experts in their field have specially thought out everything so that on the way to your cherished goal you will meet more temptations. Therefore, the shelves with dairy products are never located at the entrance, otherwise you could cope too quickly and leave without two dozen necessary little things.
They make you think that you are walking fast when in fact you are not
They tiling the floor in more expensive sections to make your trolley rattle louder. So you think you are walking faster, so you subconsciously slow down and spend more time in an expensive department.
They developed a left-right formula
Since most supermarkets work - the so-called law of the right hand, when the movement of visitors is organized counterclockwise. In this case, the customer, moving through the store, always turns to the left, and his gaze most often falls on the middle of the wall to his right. It is in this place that the so-called golden shelves are located, and on them are either the most expensive goods, or products with an expiring date.
They confuse us with complicated prices
We all know this old trick: 0.99 always seems to be much less than 1.0. Subconsciously, a penny grows to a gigantic size of economy, and the hand reaches out for the coveted "freebie". The old prices, boldly crossed out, often written in smaller print, and highlighted new ones, work in the same direction. Your brain processes this information like a picture, not an arithmetic problem. And in the end, you take the thing you don't need in order to “save money”. Council. Count it! Don't be lazy to subtract the new price from the old one. Sometimes the result will amaze you with its insignificance.
They use your children
Perhaps this is inevitable. Each parent will have to go through a certain rite of passage: go to the store with the child and endure all his whims, requests to buy chocolates, new cereals, sweets … wild screams. Yes, it is not easy for children to walk past colorful shop windows.
They hide cheaper goods from you
Have you ever noticed that all the expensive goods are on the middle shelf of the counter, just at the height of your eyes? This is done so that you see the most expensive item first. Next comes the calculation for psychology, so that you decide that the goods on the shelves that are higher or lower are of lower quality (although, usually, this is not the case). Today, however, this place “in the sun” is conquered by “promoted” brands, as their products bring great profit.
They offer their "product pairs"
Everyone loves a couple. So it is in the supermarket. The so-called related products are always placed next to the main ones. Next to beer - chips or bags with dried fish, next to cookies - juices or carbonated drinks, next to shirts - ties, etc. Everything so that you buy more.
They sell meat and fish against white walls
Meat and fish are often sold on a white plate to look fresher. And visual tricks like wooden shelves and pleasant lighting make people spend more.
They cry out to your greed
It seems that the stream of promotions is simply inexhaustible. Buy one shampoo and get the second as a gift. Super deal! However, before buying a shampoo, think about whether you really need it or will it gather dust within 3 months? Buying two products at a lower price, you gain little, but the supermarket increases sales. In addition, obsolete or expired goods are usually sold at reduced prices.
They paint the walls in warm colors so that you stay longer in the store
Warm colors attract and make you contemplate. Studies have shown that people take a long time to choose which fruit juice to buy, so these rows are painted red.
They put on music to make you spend more
Music also plays an important role in trying to get you shopping. The next time you're in the mall, close your eyes and listen. You will surely hear melodic music, which is also part of the strategy. To such music, we subconsciously slow down, stop for a long time in front of the counters and look at the goods. Supermarkets play mood-boosting light hits to encourage you to make an impulse purchase that wasn't on your list.
They arrange shelves with all the small things at the checkout so that you make spontaneous purchases
At the checkout, you can see even more goods that belong to the so-called "spontaneous purchases" category. Bars, cheap magazines, gum, mints and soda … The supermarket's last chance to make you spend. Usually, there are shelves of chocolates at the checkout counter, which you will most likely take as a reward for a long shopping trip. In any case, you will consider and choose such products - after all, you need to somehow while away the time in the queue. And against the background of "big" purchases, buying a gum or a bar "on the lane" for half a penny of money is simply not perceived by us as such.
They tie you to them with a discount
Well, when paying at the checkout, you habitually get a discount card. A small discount will firmly tie you to this supermarket. And a regular customer is a gold mine. After all, you will leave here even more money next time.