访谈录 2010-11-15&11-17 购物心理学

All right so you've made a promise to yourself, this holiday season you are sticking to a gift giving budget. Well, the stores are gonna try to keep your spending you know that. And they are replying on some psychological triggers to get your business. So here to expose these little tricks is Kelli Grant. She is senior consumer reporter for SmartMoney.com. Thanks for being with us.

Thank you.

All right, I have fall for a lot of this. So help us out, will you? First one gift with purchase so many times I think I'm getting such a good deal because if I just spend a little bit more, I get a gift.

And that's exactly what they want you to think right now. And studies have shown that consumers are apt to think of a gift with purchase, not just as you spending extra money for something that you might not even want, but that we almost quit with this discount you feel like the gift is worth about forty dollars. Then you are saving forty dollars. Even that really isn't the case. So to avoid this one you just wanna make sure that you are really looking and making sure the gift purchase is something is on your list and you are still spending in budget.

There are a lot psychological tricks here, for example the purchase limits. Sometimes I just want one and I see a good deal, but then it says, you know, “limit five”. You think, “Well, maybe I should get more than just one. This is such a good deal”. Right?

That's exactly, that's exactly the trick. They really want you to think about it and see that limit and think wow if this wasn’t here, then people would just be filling their carts with this, it’s so amazing. And there are studies have show that if there is a limit in place show more likely to buy at least one of those items if you weren’t going to already. The higher the limit, the more likely you are to buy it. So really be thinking about how many of something you need. And try to ignore the fact that they are stacking limit on everything.

Yeah, how can you ignore those Emails that you keep getting about this sale and that sale.

Don't open your email... That's really the best advice. I mean the stores really know that we are we are hard-wired to think about that is the scarcity 1. If you know that the sale is ending, then they want you to act on impulse and start running out and buying something. But this time of year the sales just keep coming. So you don't actually need to do that. So just, you know when you are looking to your E-mails try to avoid opening any the ones that like, you know, the sale is ending tomorrow, today, in a few hours. Unless you’re gonna make a purchase from that store anyway, otherwise just delete it unread.

Gotcha. You know it is really a number’s games because a lot of times when you are looking at these different deals, it’s like save 30%, save 50%. But are you really saving that much money when you are looking at your purchase.

That's what they want you to think. You’ll see a lot of times in the advertising 2 that they’ll put that, they’ll type the savings 3, and then sort of the fine price almost you see what the new price is on something and the reason they do that, it's basically a visual trick, whatever you see the first, you are more likely to sort of attached to the deal and the price in comparison is not gonna look like such a good deal. I mean if you are saving five hundred dollars just really matter that the TV is still 1500. Hopefully yes but the advertising works in such a tricky 4 way that you might think you are getting that much a better price because the savings are significant.

Right, sometimes the purchase really isn't that large of a purchase so, you know 30% not that big of a deal. A small purchase, but you see 30% you think wow I'm getting a really good deal here. It's funny how the numbers working that, and they know that.

They do, and they want us just to splash that around this time of year, so really make sure that you are looking for the items that between your price range and then start to looking to see if there are sales that might abroad. Something even better or a little bit cheaper for you.

Gotcha. And shop now, save later. Is that a trick?

We are seeing a lot of this especially with closing stores this time of year and this is a way that consumer tried to think they’re gonna gain in the system. Because they’re gonna to buy something a little bit today and get today's sale. And they gonna get a coupon 5 to come back in two weeks and buy a little bit more then at even better prices. But really what it is that the stores are searing you to come back at a time when they know that there either gonna have a lot of fresh merchandise that you gonna be interested in or the time when they figure they got have other sales you are really just gonna be overwhelmed. So for this one. You know so many sales are out there right now, just tried to focus on what deals that are currently and not try to play games.

So I think the key word here is to stay focused. Em, you know you have your list, you have your budget. Try not to veer 6 from it if you don't have to.

Exactly. Make that list. Check it twice. And just make sure you are not deviating 7 from it, or if you feel the impulse to that you really look at it then make sure that that's the smartest move.

Well that's what we’re gonna set out to do. We’ll see how it turns out in there you know how holiday shopping is.

Definitely.

All right, Kelli, thank you so much.