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Psychological Tricks Retailers Use to Make us

Spend More Money

“It was psychological trick called empathic listening. You say what the person is feeling so they feel understood.” ― John Green

During my time working as a trade marketer and salesperson, I’ve been learning a lot of tricks to impulse sales. Here are some of the most effective and widely-used internationally.

Retail stores display cheap products at consumer sight for the client to perceive a great deal. With that offer, curiosity makes people visit the whole range of products inside the store and usually buy more, even though the other goods aren’t as economical as the first one you saw. Plus, the offer you spotted might be the simplest version of the product (without color choice, accessories, less features, etc.).

This is a calling product for you to spend more.

Nº1 - The call

Example: the offer grabs your attention. But once you get in, they want to tempt you with more/different offers (sizes, flavors, etc.). So you spend more than planned. !And sometimes you find out (too late) that the offer you were coming for actually has specific restrictions that apply or limited duration…

Some people will always be attracted by the highest priced items. Retailers often exploit this psychology and increase prices on luxury items to

intensify that high status & rarity perception, and therefore sales.

Nº2 - Exclusivity

Retailing wisdom holds that Rolex began selling more watches when they increased the

price & the status of their product.

Example: According to a study during wine tasting activity, when participants were told

that a wine had a high price, they gave that wine higher ratings. They also

experienced higher activation in the brain regions associated with feelings of pleasantness. To some extent, consumers are letting price influence how they

feel about products and services.

Most customers shy away from the lowest priced items. They don't want to be cheap, and often associate the lowest price item with poor quality. On the other hand, highest price items are here to help the customer contrasting his choices.

So, for retailers, the best way to use psychology to increase sales is to highlight the middled price offer (or high rotation ones) at eye level.

Nº3 - Middle Sale

In 8 studies published from 1987 to 2004, prices ending with the magic number 9 ($1.99, 49 and so on) boosted sales by 24% (as per Priceless). Most people still perceive the items less expensive than with rounded prices.

Nº4 - The missing cent

Some go even farther, like in Colombia, retailers don’t have 1, 2 or 10 cent coins. So they’re not able to give your change back and round up your check in their favor.

Sale and discount prices appear to be the most magical trick of all. Everyone loves a

deal, and will often buy products just because they are on sale.

Nº5 - Ultimate Discount

Accessories are part of retailers’ strategy to make you spend extra money.  "Well, you can't get true HD pictures without buying the HDMI cable. Sure, you could buy this $15, but this $50 Monster Cable is made with better quality..."  Accessories are VERY profitable for retailers.

Nº6 - Add-ons

Brands offer free samples or testing for you to be convinced the product is working. It is widely used in cosmetics, sometimes with tricky effects to make you think it works instantly... sorry to tell you, no miracles exist! But beauty & happiness do sell.

Nº7 - Testing

!Example: M.A.C (make up) offers a 10 minute focus session to make you feel beautiful and buy more.

Example: the toy brand even has some « FunParks » for children to enjoy playing with their favorite toys with an exclusive shop inside.

It’s a great way to make children push their parents to buy more of those little guys.

By offering you the 10th purchase thanks to a loyalty card, you psychologically think you're earning something more for free. For the brands, it is a great way to encourage you to spend more & classify their customers by assessing their loyalty. For the customers, it is sometimes a great benefit, but it can also turns into a lot of junk mail, poor added value items or too many restrictions.

Nº8 - Don’t Cheat

Example: American Express has often been voted top loyalty program

By collecting your data when you first buy from the brand, they get to know your preferences better and can send you targeted special offers for you to spend more. They can also learn your buying habits (when, where, how much, etc.). It is called Customer Relationship Management.

Nº9 - CRM

Example: Hugo Boss goes farther by asking clients personal interests and invite them to private events for new collections launch.

"I sold one to a doctor yesterday". Implying that intelligent people make this purchase gives credibility to the offer. It is specifically good when selling technology or complex products. That way, people feel like they can also be as intelligent as that person & own it too.

Nº10 - Smart Close

"Ok I'll let you think about it, but don't tell me you're coming back tomorrow. If you really like the product, you better buy it now, because tomorrow I will need to sell it to you at the normal price". Basically they’ll just leave the customer for 1 minute and

come back teasing him. It works a lot...

Nº11 - Think About It

By typing on the calculator, people automatically think you're making them a

special treatment. It is also a great way to convince people better about a reduced price.

Nº12 - The Calculator

This is the first interaction clients have with a store. Owners make the most of this by displaying new, economic or high rotation products, or sales season. The objective is to get people's attention from the outside. Sometimes you don't even plan to get in, but still will...

Nº13 - The Window

Brands adopt a frequent turnover to stay competitive and always provoke the customer's interest. Newness enhances sales and pushes people to rush into the items quicker as it can be running out of stock.

Nº14 - Product turnover

Example: Zara is the best example we can give for that. They change their collection every 3 weeks so that customers

can always feel like something new is coming. Plus, once you spot an item you like, you feel like you have to acquire it right now before it goes out of stock.

Playing with packaging is a modern trick brands use to make you think you’re saving money on purchases. For example, they will expose a smaller packaging with the same price or a 10% off product but with reduced packaging.

Nº15 - Packaging

Buy 2, Get 1 free: by getting 2 products for the price of one, you feel proud. But in the end, they sold you more and probably made that much money. Moreover, they expect you to get used to it and come back visiting in a near future. Another one

similar can be, "buy this one and I'll give you this for free" (like a concession in exchange for the close). It’s a great trick to make you feel « involved » with the brand.

Nº16 - BOGOF

« Yes, the price can seem high, but if you divide it into 365 days… » Reducing cost to daily amount can be very effective. It also helps to compare benefits & features over price.

Nº17 - Cost Over Time

« I think it's too expensive for you » says the salesperson. By classifying your customer or prospect into a lower range, he can feel hurt in his esteem and want to buy the most expensive product. I used that a lot selling pricey cosmetics and it works very

often because people want to prove you they can afford it (pure ego trick). We would also use something like "Ok then, keep with your ineffective product" or "stay with your pain". Trust me, it hurts people's feelings.

Nº18 - Bad Feeling

Complimenting customers, especially for fashion stores, makes people buy more.

Exaggerating is often part of the selling speech. A lot of people also try to connect with the customer's feelings and personal stories for that...

Nº19 - Compliment

Get people to commit with you and make them owe you something. They usually do this by asking several questions: « How are you today? Have you tried our products/services before? Where are you from? Oh you play rugby, my son is a big fan of… » 

Nº20 - Commitment

Whether it is music, smell, images, touch, screens, lights, colors, path, etc. All those

characteristics are widely used by most modern stores to improve customer experience. Of course we like colors and beautiful images around us. Studies also show that music influences the rhythm of our purchases; the faster the music, the quicker we buy. That's why restaurants often play slow music to encourage us to eat more.

Nº21 - Atmosphere

Example: IKEA revolutionized the customer experience by setting up a path to follow within the store. It is a very clever way to let people go around and buy extra products…

Example: Subway makes use of the color green in its branding materials. This color is one of

the easiest for the human eye to process. The color is also associated with health, balance and restoration, which are all integrated with Subway’s overall marketing strategy.

It just consists of keeping some prices down during a small amount of time. That way,

people feel the urge to get the product before the offer ends. Often, brands will repeat this in time, and thus you would have just been tricked (again). It works quite well…

Nº22 - Time-limited Offer

I've been part of it myself as a model. Basically, you're here to catch people's attention and flirt with them while they try or look for products. Let's be honest, people like what's good to look at and new experiences. Even if they only come for a picture with

the model, then you get their attention inside the store. Also, some companies hire brand professionals to "help" you discover their products. It can be by providing information, testing or showing some features of it. It clearly boosts sales...

Nº23 - Professional Hand

Retailers classify their products by brands and categories in order to push complementary sales. For example, if you come to buy a shampoo, you'll find right next to it soap, deodorant, creams, etc. Or if you by alcohol, you’ll find snacks & beverages nearby…

Nº24 - Cross-selling

This one is a display, usually an informative image, placed in the aisle directly between the

shelves, to catch your eye on a specific product. It often comes with detailed information/benefits & a special price as well.

Nº25 - Shelf Display

Those are displays near the cashier or directly on the counter. It aims to make people

spend more while they're waiting to check out with their items and provoke additional sales at a small extra cost. Examples: beverages, magazines, candies, etc.

Nº26 - Counter Display

It usually consist of one product only (new or high rotation one), displayed at the

tip of the aisle, with a visible price and limited in time. It also comes with a header/banner, bright colors and some floor guidance. It helps selling a lot more as people see a bargain limited in time and quantity.

Nº27 - Special display

According to studies & research, we tend to have some kind of natural behavior walking towards certain directions. The hot zone is where we go spontaneously;

that is where are displayed the special offers to provoke impulse and higher sales (pyramid, zig zag...; making us step in the "right" direction). The cold zone is less visited & more distant; it is where we go on purpose because we know the products we're looking for are here.

Nº28 - Hot/Cold zones

Plus, you'll notice that most supermarkets' entrances are located on the right, not on the left. Studies reportedly showed we tend to walk towards the right. By entering the right (or center sometimes), they make sure we go all over the place before leaving so that they can trick us with some special discounts and offers. It is also why you don't see many external windows within those places (they try to lose us and make us forget what's going on outside). But of course, every shop has its

own analysis & influence on the customer flow and arrangement for better results...

By communicating, brands grab your attention to get you to come and visit them more often. It can be through promoting the brand, a new product or an exclusive offer. Each brand embraces its own tone, message & strategy.

Nº29 - Advertising

According to a 2009 Cornell University study, prices marked with dollar signs are correlated with lower consumer spending levels. The reason why? We’re overloaded

with information. Words and symbols are additional pieces of information for us to process. Expensive restaurants with a minimalistic approach (‘24’ vs. ‘$24’) want patrons to focus on the food instead of the price (sometimes they don’t even display it).

Nº30 - Get Rid of $

« Not seen, not taken ». Retailers make the most of your fast pace (about 1 meter per second) by displaying at least 2 facings of one product. It enhances the

visibility of the offer and thus the probability of purchase. For that reason, many brands try to group most of their products together. It gives a strong image.

Nº31 - Facing

This technique consists of assembling items together to show people how good it fits. It aims to inspire people & push them to buy more goods. It is largely used within the fashion industry with top & bottom clothes displayed as a whole.

Nº32 - Anatomy

The way retailers display their messages through the store is no coincidence. They

wisely choose where they want you to go with big posters visible from far. It sometimes gives you information you weren’t planning on seeing…and so buying.

Nº33 - Communication

Retailers use special events to provoke your (or your children’s) attention. Often, as it is the case for Christmas, it urges people to come and buy the products quickly before there’s no more. Plus, prices usually go up for those seasons.

Nº34 - Christmas Treat

One of the smartest move a brand has made recently is the campaign run by Coca-Cola. Give your friend a bottle with his name, namely « give happiness to those you care about ». It is a fantastic technique to get people to spend more, because they think they're also doing something good for their entourage… and they all enjoy themselves. !When I was selling cosmetics within malls, we saw many customers coming back the day after, saying: "I'd like to return this product. It's not that I don't like it, but it's just that I don't know why I bought it; I'll never use it anyway". That's just an example of how good those psychological tricks are...

Conclusion

The challenge of the retail business is the human condition.

- Howard Schultz

Jérémie  -­‐  Professional  Model,  Serial  Ent6epreneur  &  Personal  Development  Adopter.    

!French,  Fashionista,  FitAess  Addict,  Blogger,  Ambitious,  Salesperson,  People-­‐Oriented

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