Revealed: The marketing ploys that trick us into spending more over Christmas

RACKING up the credit card bill this Christmas? It might not be your fault, with shops pulling out all the stops to get our cash.

MARIAH Carey, tinsel and one-day-only sales are just some of the sneaky tactics used by retailers to separate you from your cash this festive season.

According to Deakin Business School’s Dr Paul Harrison, there are a raft of ways retailers are manipulating us into spending big every day — and those measures are ramped up even more over the holidays.

“All that noise, colour and movement isn’t just the shopping centre getting into the festive season, it’s also a technique to get you to think a little less completely, and respond to emotional cues, such as social norms, fear of missing out — or FOMO — and rituals,” he explained.

Dr Harrison said a good example of a marketing ploy was Melbourne’s annual “Shop the City” promotion, which offered shoppers one-day-only discounts which tapped into the “scarcity effect” to encourage sales.

Another example was lighting, which is usually brighter at this time of year, as well as certain Christmas displays such as Myer’s Giftorium, which arranges items in an attractive, festive way.

Gift sets and bundles were also used to entice shoppers to spend more as they were perceived, often incorrectly, as offering greater value for money.

Christmas carols and nostalgic songs, decorations and displays are also common tactics as well as the use of scents, as there was a “direct link” between the olfactory nerve and the brain, which means we associate some smells with certain feelings and memories.

Another effective strategy is having salespeople discuss special promotions with shoppers instead of relying on signs alone to get the message across.

“When a human tells you something, even if they’re not a friend, there’s a social contract and you think, ‘that person is being nice to me’. Signs are a gentle touch, but when they are reinforced by humans, it plays on our need to be accepted,” he said.

“Humans at their core need rites and rituals to create meaning and a sense of security and are incredibly social animals influenced by this need to provide a lot of food, or gifts, in the hope that we will be valued by our friends and family. To not do so, especially at Christmas, means resistance to a whole bunch of rites and rituals.

“What marketers are doing is tapping into your predisposition to value experiential scarcity during socially validated moments to behave in particular ways.”

Dr Harrison said that while participating in rituals like Christmas was healthy, it paid to be aware of the subtle ways retailers were influencing our behaviour.

HOW STORES MANIPULATE US:

• Playing Christmas carols and other music

• Installing bright, attractive lighting

• Spraying scents

• Hosting one-day-only sales

• Setting up special displays

• Packaging gift sets and bundles

• Having salespeople discuss promotions with customers

HOW TO BEAT THE SHOPS THIS CHRISTMAS:

• Make sure you’ve recently eaten — a full stomach leads to better decision making

• Take a shopping list with you — it will help you stay focused

• Shop on your own or with a supportive friend — and leave the kids at home if possible

• Try to shop during the day — huge crowds and tiredness can affect willpower

[e-mail]