Shopping savings: Marketing mind tricks consumers need to watch out for

Stores are using clever tricks to make consumers feel like they’re saving cash but actually make them spend more. Here’s what they are.

Has your local shopping centre tried to mess with your brain lately?

The answer is most likely yes, because retailers are using marketing mind games to get shoppers to spend more, says author and Canstar money commentator Effie Zahos.

They use mind tricks “because they work”, she says, so consumers need to keep on their toes.

“I almost got caught myself at a local fruit shop, seeing something at two for $5 and assuming it was a special, but it was also one for $2.50,” Zahos says.

“It’s how our mind registers these things. It makes us think we are getting value but in fact it’s causing us to spend more.”

Author and financial commentator Effie Zahos says recognising retail mind games is the best way to avoid getting caught. Picture: Tim Hunter

In her new book Ditch the Debt and Get Rich, Zahos says key mind tricks include:

• Removing commas in a price, for example from $1,599 to $1599, to make it seem lower.

• Putting shopping essentials such as milk and eggs at the back of supermarkets so shoppers are tempted to buy more items along the way.

• Using percentage discounts on small values to make it look like a better deal.

• Separating the shipping price when buying online, because people focus on the base price.

• Offering payments in instalments to make the financial outlay seem smaller.

“People are anchored to the lower price,” Zahos says. “It’s why buy now, pay later is so successful.”

She says recognising retail mind games is the best way to avoid getting caught. “Be aware of them and how they play on your subconscious,” she says.

Behavioural economist Phil Slade says people often spend money to feel good. Picture: Supplied

Behavioural economist Phil Slade says people often spend money to feel good and retailers harness these emotions.

“If it didn’t increase sales, they wouldn’t use them,” he says.

“Most of our purchases are emotional purchases, so the more they can make you feel better about the purchases, the more you are likely to purchase.

“We like to think we are rational about buying things but often we are not.”

Slade says marketing mind tricks are not evil – they’re just part of business.

“When it becomes a problem is when you are buying things of a much higher value that could get you into trouble,” he says.

As for Slade’s top tips for shoppers? “If you are shopping for food, don’t shop hungry. If you are shopping for property don’t shop desperate. And lower your emotional state.

“Hungry is an emotional state. If you are really sad don’t go walking through a chocolate shop.

“Time also lowers emotion, so give yourself a simple rule: if it’s more than $50, wait until tomorrow, and you are less likely to impulse purchase.”

Originally published as Shopping savings: Marketing mind tricks consumers need to watch out for