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Tricks Retailers Use to Make You Overspend
Let's face it, retailers are in the business of making money.
Whether it is through marking up their merchandise or getting you into the store to spend, retailers have one goal in mind and that is the bottom line. If you don't spend, they don't stay in business. There has to be a profit. Unfortunately, it is easy for us, the consumers, at times to fall prey to tricks of the trade retailers use to make you overspend.
As savvy Cheapskaters we need to be aware of the tricks they use, and then turn them around to work for our benefit.
The “Spend More Get More” Incentive
One of the biggest tricks retailers use to get you to overspend is by enticing you to spend a set and specific dollar amount. For example, a retailer will offer you a coupon detailing that if you spend $50.00 or more, you will get $10.00 back. So, if you went into your local department store simply for an extra pair of pantyhose, they have got you. Now you are faced with the choice of purchasing more than you went in for simply for the sake of getting that $10.00 back in your pocket.
Retailers feed into your logical side, enticing you to think, “Well, I'm here now and I will probably need something anyhow, so why not buy it now and get that $10.00 back in my pocket.” And this works - so many people just spend the extra money to "save" $10.
The “Use Your Credit Card and Get Bonus Points” Incentive
Retailers love to get you to use your credit card, and it is not for your benefit either. Retailers have the hopes that you will use your credit card, overspend, not be able to pay, and thereby collect interest off your purchase.
Retailers will offer you an incentive in the form of bonus points (sometimes a discount coupon) via email for your next purchase or an on-the-spot discount for simply using your credit card. How many times have you used your credit card to get the incentive, spent more than you needed to get that incentive and wound up not being able to pay the bill? They just hooked you and reeled you in to overspend.
Placing Random Items on End Caps Near Registers
Most, if not all stores have strategically placed items right at the point of checkout. This is in the hopes of securing a last-minute impulse purchase. Unfortunately, many of those items are in the form of lollies, soft drinks, magazines, chocolates. This wreaks havoc on parents with small children on their way to check out.
Retailers know the power of a child's scream in a public place. Retailers know that most parents will avoid a scene with their child and the unwelcome stares of strangers at all costs – even if it means a chocolate bar washed down with a soft drink.
I was a mean mum - I didn't buy those things, and I wouldn't have, even if my children had thrown a tantrum (they never did). I also didn't give them any treats I bought (a Milky Way sometimes or perhaps a bag of Tiny Teddies) until we were home and the shopping had been put away.
As a parent, you get to choose what you buy for your children, and when. If you don't want to buy those things, don't. If the kids get upset, let them. They're entitled, they're still learning about life. And if a kind-hearted soul chastises you smile sweetly at them and remember: their children probably turned into spoilt, selfish, self-absorbed adults who don't know the meaning of the word "no".
These are just a few things to be aware of when it comes to retailers getting you to overspend. The important thing is to recognize them and not fall prey.
Whether it is through marking up their merchandise or getting you into the store to spend, retailers have one goal in mind and that is the bottom line. If you don't spend, they don't stay in business. There has to be a profit. Unfortunately, it is easy for us, the consumers, at times to fall prey to tricks of the trade retailers use to make you overspend.
As savvy Cheapskaters we need to be aware of the tricks they use, and then turn them around to work for our benefit.
The “Spend More Get More” Incentive
One of the biggest tricks retailers use to get you to overspend is by enticing you to spend a set and specific dollar amount. For example, a retailer will offer you a coupon detailing that if you spend $50.00 or more, you will get $10.00 back. So, if you went into your local department store simply for an extra pair of pantyhose, they have got you. Now you are faced with the choice of purchasing more than you went in for simply for the sake of getting that $10.00 back in your pocket.
Retailers feed into your logical side, enticing you to think, “Well, I'm here now and I will probably need something anyhow, so why not buy it now and get that $10.00 back in my pocket.” And this works - so many people just spend the extra money to "save" $10.
The “Use Your Credit Card and Get Bonus Points” Incentive
Retailers love to get you to use your credit card, and it is not for your benefit either. Retailers have the hopes that you will use your credit card, overspend, not be able to pay, and thereby collect interest off your purchase.
Retailers will offer you an incentive in the form of bonus points (sometimes a discount coupon) via email for your next purchase or an on-the-spot discount for simply using your credit card. How many times have you used your credit card to get the incentive, spent more than you needed to get that incentive and wound up not being able to pay the bill? They just hooked you and reeled you in to overspend.
Placing Random Items on End Caps Near Registers
Most, if not all stores have strategically placed items right at the point of checkout. This is in the hopes of securing a last-minute impulse purchase. Unfortunately, many of those items are in the form of lollies, soft drinks, magazines, chocolates. This wreaks havoc on parents with small children on their way to check out.
Retailers know the power of a child's scream in a public place. Retailers know that most parents will avoid a scene with their child and the unwelcome stares of strangers at all costs – even if it means a chocolate bar washed down with a soft drink.
I was a mean mum - I didn't buy those things, and I wouldn't have, even if my children had thrown a tantrum (they never did). I also didn't give them any treats I bought (a Milky Way sometimes or perhaps a bag of Tiny Teddies) until we were home and the shopping had been put away.
As a parent, you get to choose what you buy for your children, and when. If you don't want to buy those things, don't. If the kids get upset, let them. They're entitled, they're still learning about life. And if a kind-hearted soul chastises you smile sweetly at them and remember: their children probably turned into spoilt, selfish, self-absorbed adults who don't know the meaning of the word "no".
These are just a few things to be aware of when it comes to retailers getting you to overspend. The important thing is to recognize them and not fall prey.