Is “buy one get, get one free” (BOGOF) or a 50% product discount most advantageous to us as customers? What influences us in making the decision to buy something that is on special offer? And what is the power of the magic word "free" when we are deciding what to buy? WinWin, the VRT News’ consumer affairs programme ‘De Inspecteur’s’ podcast, delved into the world of consumer psychology and provided an insight into our impulsive buying pattens.
As consumers, we are very already very much up to speed when it comes to spotting special offers and retailers are all to aware of this. They deploy cunning technicsuusing product discounts and promotional offers in an effort to increase sales. But what tricks do they use and how exactly are we influenced by them? Barbara Briers is a Professor of consumer psychology at the University of Antwerp. Professor Briers conducts research into our behaviour as consumers. "Vendors mainly respond to our emotions, subconscious and deep subconscious".
A well-known example of this the 99 cent trick. "Things often cost 3.99 euros instead of 4 euros. Our brain reads from left to right. So we see that number 3 and then forget that there are 99 cents after the decimal point. Another example is putting things in red. "Red attracts our attention and encourages us to take action. So buy! There are other ticks too that we subconsciously fall for."
BOGOF or 50% off: which is best?
Instinctively one would think that “buy one get one free” would be most successful. However, this is not the case. The offer of 50% discount proves more attractive to customers. Professor Briers says that this is quite logical as "The word 'free' works very well, but not when it is combined with '1+1'. To get that one product for free, you have to buy another item. This is something that we’re not too fond of as it means that we have to spend money first in order to get something for free. With a 50% discount you get the discount automatically."
What about online discounts?
If you buy online, sellers also bring out a whole box of tricks. "Online vendors use more personalised techniques. An online vendor can target you personally. If you have a profile with their web shop, the seller knows your purchase history. Online web shops follow your surfing behavior anyway and know what kind of things you like. They offer discounts on the things that you like." They even go further than this.
"Online vendors can also easily attach conditions to the discounts they give. You only get them if you share the special offer code or deal with your friends or followers on social media."
Fear of missing out
Sellers also like to play on our fear of missing out. Professor Briers calls this the "principle of anticipatory regret". Retailers and marketers play on our fear of missing out on a good deal. “Promotional offers are limited in time or you see signs with ‘as long as stocks last’. This gives us the feeling that we have to act quickly What's more, this also makes us value the products more and makes them even more desirable to us."