Have you ever bought something you used once then never touched again? There are many sly ways firms encourage you to buy products that you never even knew you wanted. In this article, we’ll explore consumer psychology, and the many ways firms get you to buy their products.
Adverts
Due to the global pandemic, internet usage has shot up – a survey by Ofcom revealed that in April 2020 adults in the UK spent an average of 4 hours a day online. This led to even more investment towards online ads than usual, such as on apps, websites and TV.
The best video adverts are short and unique, use humour or a jingle; and focus on the results of the product. Take ‘GoCompare’ for instance. It ticks all the boxes: it’s extremely memorable (owing to its quirky protagonist), has a catchy tune and really sells you what makes the product so essential.
Food adverts are one of the most successful type of ads. Ones about fast food are some of the most successful types because they have an effect that others don’t. A study conducted by the University of Michigan discovered that fast food ads activate the release of dopamine, which gives the sense of pleasure and acts as a reward centre for you brain in regions connected by dopamine pathways, mainly the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. This subconsciously motivates you to eat not just the burger you saw in the McDonald’s ad, but any type of junk food. This is especially harmful for younger children – who are exposed to many of these ads on social media, YouTube and TV – as they may not realise how unhealthy they are. Because of this, the UK government is looking at banning all junk food advertisements to decrease obesity levels for everyone.
There are many tricks that are used to make food look a lot more aesthetically pleasing than it actually is. Here are a few of them:
- Mashed potatoes instead of ice cream – mashed potatoes aren’t going to melt
- PVA glue for milk – cereal doesn’t go soggy
- Lipstick on strawberries for increased redness
- Brown shoe polish on burger buns
In conclusion, don’t eat any food you find on set!
Sales and deals
Whether it’s Black Friday or Boxing Day, firms will always find a reason to have a sale. Why? Consumers love deals. There’s a time limit and naturally, we don’t want to miss the opportunity to save money. However, the reality is, products on sale are almost always cheaper at some other time.
According to Which? 95% of products are cheaper after Black Friday sales and 61% are cheaper before, with the majority of these being technology goods, such as TVs. The best way to ensure you are getting a good deal, is by using a price history website, such as ‘camelcamelcamel’, or ‘PriceSpy’. These websites show a graph of the price over a period of time (which is normally 1 year or more) so that you can spot patterns of where the price drops and where the lowest is. Using this, you can not only see if a deal is worth it, but also when to buy the good. This is really useful for more demand elastic goods (e.g. luxury or non-essentials), whose prices vary a lot.
In-store tactics
An interesting strategy involves the placing of products depending on their prices. What I mean by this, is that stores will put extremely high-priced ones towards the front of the store or in the windows, so that when you walk past them and see the slightly cheaper goods, you feel less reluctant on spending since you feel like you have saved some money.
.99 pricing is another major trick. If you’re asked to buy a product at £3.99, then the same at £4.00, you instantly prefer the 3.99 because your eyes see the 3 first and make it seem much cheaper than the 4, however the actual difference is only 1 penny. The only time this isn’t used is for premium products since you want the buyer to pay a premium price and so it’s the opposite (£4.00 is more whole, round and larger than the cheaper looking £3.99).
Add-ons and Gimmicks
Approximately 1.2 billion Happy Meals are bought worldwide every year from McDonald’s. This is because the thought of getting a toy with your meal is extremely enticing for the younger audience, even if they may forget about it after 5 minutes. This is the basic idea of a gimmick. It is something that comes free with the main product, that grabs the consumer’s attention.
Another great example is a free pack of cards or a crossword booklet that comes attached to a magazine. If you have an extra add-on, you are more prepared to pay a slightly higher price for it, since you are getting something else on the side, even if you didn’t intend on purchasing it in the first place. Overall, it’s quite interesting to see how important a role psychology and the way we act plays in business. Next time you are shopping, why not see if you can spot any tricks?
