Retailers offering different products and services compete with each other for the consumer's attention. In their desire for greater profits, they also rely on science. Here are 5 examples of how they use it to convince you to buy a product you probably don't even need.
Have you ever wondered why did you actually buy a particular product? It often happens that we bring something from the store that we do not need. Companies that want to increase sales are also aware of this by studying consumer behavior.
We present to you 5 ways marketers use science to convince customers to buy a product.
The movement of a person through the store can be predicted.
After years studies consumer movement in the store, experts came to the conclusion that most people buys counter-clockwise. It is for this reason that larger stores usually have entrance on the right. Upon entering the store, you are usually greeted by products of a wide variety of colors and shapes (the most beautiful products, which they have), which already at the beginning enrich your shopping experience. The things you actually came for (eg drinks, milk, meat, eggs and cheese) are usually the last to notice. By then, your shopping cart is full of goods that you don't actually need. The aim of traders is therefore, to keep you between the shelves as long as possible.
We can't resist shiny things.
People associate glitz with luxury, even though that shouldn't be the case. In the past, science even managed to prove that pedestrians, looking at a shop window decorated in glittering colors, they slow down their walking. How to explain such an act? Scientists have come up with an interesting theory, which says that the human species developed this feature long ago, when in the wilderness had to search for clear, sparkling water.
Shopping clouds the human mind.
Stores strive to turn shopping into an adrenaline-filled event. Let's just remind you about night shopping and days with special promotions, such as Black Friday. In this way, they convince you to buy the thing that you could have bought some time ago, on a specific day. The same applies to a whole range of other products that you don't even need. This happens because it is supposed to released a hormone in our brain while shopping dopamine, which contributes to a better mood and a greater amount of energy.
People don't understand numbers.
Is a price close to a thousand euros really a good price for buying a new phone? Probably not, but companies are trying in every possible way to convince customers otherwise. The purpose of the method based on pricing in the form of xx99 € or xx,99 €, today practically everyone knows. Although you realize that there is no significant difference between 499 and 500 euros, your subconscious works differently. Humans read numbers from left to right, so we the number 499 seems more like the number 400 than the number 500. You should also pay attention to discounts, which stores offer to their customers. They do not lower the regular prices, but they do first of all raise and then deduct a certain percentage from them. If you want to see how much the product actually costs before the supposed discount, it's best to go to the retailer's website.
Loyalty can trump personal taste.
Brand commitment strongly influences consumer purchasing decisions. This is self-explanatory. If a phone from a certain manufacturer has satisfied your wants and needs, it is very likely that your new phone will be of the same brand as the previous one. Loyalty is shown in a bad light when it makes us prefer a product of a popular brand over a product that is otherwise completely to our taste. This happens when the parts of the brain responsible for thinking and categorizing dominate the parts of the brain responsible for sensory perception.
