How Stores Trick You Into Buying More

Have you ever gone to a store to buy a few items, and you end up leaving with a lot more than you planned? Laci is here to explain some tactics that stores use to get you to spend more money!


Read More:
99-cent pricing hooks shoppers
“Only $9.99? I'll take it! But at $10, fuhgedaboutit! And that, researchers say, explains why so many goods and services have prices ending in .99.”

Why We Buy

Scent Marketing - Deepening Customer Connections
“The sense of smell is the strongest and most primal of all our senses.”

What effect does background music have on consumer behavior?
“The playing of background music in retail environments is common, and we often take it for granted (or we think we do). New research shows that its effect can be very influential on consumer behaviour.”

The Excitement of Getting a Bargain: Some Hypotheses Concerning the Origins and Effects of Smart-Shopper Feelings
“The excitement that is often generated in consumers by a price promotion suggests that there is an ego-expressive, as well as utilitarian aspect to a price.”

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TestTube Wild Card
Why You’re Bad at Spending

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[SiiKoNiisK]

ohh my god my mom:

-mom: can you come with me to the supermarket? I'm only getting cheese and milk
-boy: ok i'll come with you
*2 hours later mom buys whole supermarket*

[grannysvids]

This reminds me of a time where I worked for a very well known furniture store in the UK for 18 years. I will give you an example, we would have a sofa selling for around £499.99. At the end of November we would increase this price by another £500 for 1 month, for one sofa.  At the same time during this period we would then offer a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE deal! so the sofa was the same price but you are forced to buy 2 items rather than one, although most people used to buy more than one sofa together. Then come December / January, we would have a half price sale for the boxing day promotions. people would come flooding in to our stores and buy everything! This sort of thing would happen throughout the whole year and people would fall for it. Sales do not exist, prices are inflated only to be deflated to show a lower price. Its all a con. 

[WBVMG]

Video still processing? I would like to see Laci in HD please. Thanks.

[EmilioAnastasi]

Somehow Tara makes Dnews more professional.

[SawBlood]

10 candy bars, Hershey payday etc... 3 bucks
hardest deal to walk away from

[kevenharvey]

I often end up buying less than what I came in the store to get. Shopping is just a chore.

[ShellySummers]

I read about a lot about this stuff in the willpower instinct book. Here is another idea laci didn't have time to toss in. There is even a reason they put donuts next to fish. It's because as soon as you start associating eating fish with yourself you will say internally "I am eating fish, I am eating good, I deserve a treat, boom I love donuts, donuts goes into cart". Who knows, you may even buy the fish this time.

[FalconPan]

If I go shopping to buy a certain thing, I buy that thing only, unless I see something I was keeping an eye out for (and didn't want to order online). If I splurge, it tends to be when I'm buying video games at bazaars, sales or flea markets - and even then it's not so bad if I sell or trade some of the stuff I get.

[aema]

actually that 0.99 thing pisses me off instead of tricking me every time in the mall lol

[JMcMillen]

I know one sneaky trick a retailer did, because it worked.

Instead of having a 'New Release' section for DVD's and Blu-Ray's, they posted a list of the new products but put the actual product wherever it was supposed to go. The idea was that if you had to go to (for example) the science fiction section to get your new movie, it increased the chance you would see something else in that section and buy it as well. And since new releases usually have super deep discounts, the store actually made more profit off that other movie you bought, even if it cost a lot less. It's true, sometimes that $10 blu-ray has 3-4 times more profit for the store than the $20 new release.

[dubious]

If you have problems over shopping, write a list BEFORE you go out
I just stay away from big stores and I can handle it myself

[ferny.]

I work in a grocery store and we have 'target spots' where we put what we want to sell and regardless of whether it is on sale or not, it will sell exceptionally better. The basic psychology behind it is that we have a big sign with a big display to make it seem important that attracts the flocks of customers that walk into the store and they buy it

[YepX]

No, thats why i always eat a big meal b4 shopping and ALWAYS bring a list

[fogglee]

Dont forget that they constantly move things around to keep you lost so you're in there for longer and see more, and they promote items by height on the shelf.

[JoaDrath]

Ha! Joke's on them, I don't have any money!

[ClickPlayFilms]

The past 40+ Videos i watched from different youtubers have only been on 360p. What is wrong with youtube? Has anyone else noticed that too?

[BowlMasterAsh]

I realize sometimes when I'm at a store and I didn't come in with something specific in mind, I stop being able to think through what I'm choosing to buy, so I've learned to either shop online, or look at what they have online and decide ahead of time if I want to buy anything, then go to the store and get it. I ain't buying shit if I find myself unable to think rationally

[dharkbizkit]

well, here in germany, i think a big deal about offers should be regulated by law. like something we call "moon prices". its when the stores seemingly reduces from a high price to a low one, while the high prices never existed in the first price. the shirt was tagged as 29, 99 when the put it up on display and a few weeks later, its there is a tag with "50% off 24, 99" making you think, it was 50 bucks before that

[Drirton]

I work in retail. I know about these evil tricks they blind people with. We had merchandise that was $24.99 but as the holiday came around, we put up signs that said it was on sale for $24.99 and was originally about $34.99. And surprise, surprise- it sold.

[yoshimaster]

pointless comment about where this pointless comment is in the pointless comment section at what pointless time