Wallet, wallet in my pocket, why did I buy this item?
Tags: Labels, Sales, Discount, Music, Psychology

Wallet, wallet in my pocket, why did I buy this item?

We’re all guilty of this habit, it’s fine you can admit it; we often find ourselves buying things then regret it once we get home. It’s like the typical scenario of that tasty burger, as soon as we buy one and eat it, we start contemplating our life decisions. And the funny thing is that we never seem to learn, so is it our fault? Well, it’s a yes and a no, so don’t feel comfortable and blame them just yet, because we’re about to explore the matter in detail, but first let me get that cool keychain even though I only have one door key.

Why did I buy this again? How often do we ask ourselves this question, and then the next day: “Oh cool! Home exercise equipment! Now I’ll be able to exercise at home whenever I want and bring the sexy back like I always dreamed”. What just happened here? Probably saw some athletic bodies on the item listing page, thought about your last night’s burger, and decided that this day should mark the beginning of a new lifestyle. That’s the first secret of merchants, they want you to convince yourself to buy the item, after all, you trust yourself the most.

They’re everywhere, almost on every item, with the classic .99 price point, which we always have the same comment on: “why not just a dollar?”. Though you feel smart because last night you read an article about the idea behind the 1 cent less price point, you think it’ll no longer trick you, but you couldn’t be more wrong. They’re like the icing on the cake of marketing, simple but complement the listing. Flashy labels like SALE, 50% off, best deal, etc, sometimes only add virtual value to the item. Between two items, you’re more likely to buy the one that has the 50% off discount label, even if they’re the same price. That’s because subconsciously the label adds value, your mind is like “50% off? So it used to be twice the price, therefore twice the value for the same price as the other item, this one must be better”, and you just fell into the trap. As for the .99 pricing, even if you are aware of the trick, you can’t control your subconscious mind, 1299.99 is just not 1300, it’s cheaper, even if by 1 cent.

Prices on supermarket shelves might look random, here’s a 2$ water bottle, and here’s a 10$ Gatorade drink bottle, nothing unusual. But if you look at the prices on each level, that’s when you’ll find another trick regarding items placement on shelves. In short, the first items that catch your attention on a shelf are items at your eye level, which are the most profitable for the supermarket, you’ll then proceed to examine the item like you’re analyzing something, when in fact your subconscious mind already decided whether to buy or not. By the time you grab that item you’ll forget about the rest of the shelves, and once again, supermarket tricks got you.

Feeling overwhelmed already? No worries let’s relax and listen to some calm music, like those in the supermarkets. Hold up, are they as simple and innocent as we think? According to many studies, music has effects on our behavior way more than we think, so much that supermarkets use specific types of music that are engineered to put you in the shopping mood, and at the same time do not distract you. So next time you enter a supermarket and hear that clam music, don’t let it trick you!

Ugh, those stores are more like mazes than actual stores! Why can’t they just make them simpler? At this point, you’ve gained enough knowledge to know that for sure it’s not as random as it seems, and indeed you’re right! You see, a customer going into a supermarket to buy specific items is prey to the merchants, a prey that must be captured. Well, they can’t kidnap you as soon as you enter, but at least they can have you spend more time in there than needed. That way you’re more likely to see more items, and to buy more than you planned. So, they place essential items at the very back of the supermarket, because you certainly didn’t go there to buy another cool keychain right? So as you walk past all those shelves, the magic of advertisement starts taking place.

Now you know some of the reasons why your ol’ wallet’s always in good shape! Regular purchase of unnecessary items, healthy overbuying, and daily routine of browsing the internet looking for things to buy because you’ll certainly need someday. Well, enough psychology for now, how about we get serious and learn some tips on how to manage this problem, so we can get in better shape instead of the wallet, and let it add few pounds? That’s what we’ll discuss in the next article.