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16.03.2022

Beware of discounts and promotions

Hunting and gathering is human nature. In the course of evolution, however, we have taken this to a new level. Today, we no longer satisfy our desire for a bargain just by getting food, but also by shopping for clothing, furnishings, sweet accessories and countless other things. A red dot, a nice SALE or BLACK FRIDAY board gives us the feeling that we are really saving here. But if we take a closer look, we find that this is not always the case.

So that you don’t fall into the bargain trap, we have summarized everything you need to know about promotions, discounts and 3 for 2 quantity advantages. Escape the hamster wheel and look behind the beautiful signs – your shopping will be different next time.

With what kind of promotions are we seduced to buy at all?

3 for 2 discount – As the name suggests, when you buy three of the same product, you only pay for two. This can often be seen in the household and food industries, for example. For example, the 3 for 2 promotion means you are supposedly cheaper when you buy three packs of toilet paper than when you buy them individually.

Promotions in general – With a clever design, we are informed that a product that previously would have cost CHF 10, for example, now only costs CHF 8. The previous price is often crossed out in a slightly smaller font, next to the new special price.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday – Every year in November, retailers of all kinds lure in with numerous and apparently greatly reduced promotions. Originally widespread in the USA, Black Friday also made it to us in Switzerland a few years ago. To top off the alleged discount weekend, Cyber Monday follows the week after.

This list is not exhaustive. In addition to the most common promotions mentioned above, there are numerous other and more imaginative discount models. Keep your eyes peeled and don’t be one of those who fall into the action trap.

What drives us to replace our rational thinking with emotional, ill-considered purchase decisions?

We make poor purchasing decisions under stress and when the number of items available is limited. Retailers trick our rational thinking with promotions and time-limited offers. If we start making emotional decisions under time pressure, it can happen that we regret them afterwards. But when we go bargain hunting, we don’t think about it at first.

Our hunting instinct is awakened and in search of the next prey, we spend more than we would have actually planned. If we manage to give our rational thinking the upper hand again, we will also be able to make sensible and very clever purchasing decisions.

What is the difference between rational and emotional? We often make emotional purchasing decisions under time pressure and when there is a limited number available – we have to decide quickly whether we like the item on offer or not. Let’s make rational purchasing decisions, take our time and thoroughly consider all the options and associated obligations. A typical example of this is buying a new car.

Tips & Tricks to distinguish bargain traps and real promotions

Spontaneous purchases with good planning replace the supposedly greatly reduced products and are a great temptation for bargain hunters to grab. But do you really need the things offered? Goods that sell well anyway rarely fall in price. However, discontinued models and slow sellers often end up in the promotional box. As a buyer, you should think carefully about which product should be purchased and what it can actually cost.

Compare prices before Black Friday and other promotional days: in order not to fall into the bargain trap, it is advisable, especially with expensive purchases, to check the price thoroughly in advance and thus before Black Friday. Only with a before and after comparison can you uncover bargain fakes and save real money. To make your work easier, you will find numerous price search engines online that will do the price comparison for you.

This is how online shopping is a lot of fun: as you may have unconsciously noticed, your surfing habits play a major role when shopping online. Online traders can use this to find out a lot about your interests, your past research and your location. For example, with the information you’ve received, certain products, especially those you’ve been talking about or searching for in the past few days, appear to you more often than others. So if you often shop online, you should only disclose the most necessary personal information to protect your data.

How lies and deceit make us spend more

When retailers intentionally stock up on Black Friday: Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for numerous retailers and online shops. They also like to buy extra goods in restricted and limited quantities on top of their stock items. However, the special offers negotiated with the suppliers are only partially passed on to their customers. In recent years, one of the largest online retailers in Switzerland has achieved around three times the turnover on Black Fridays that it would achieve on a normal Friday.

The RRP Trick: One of the most common tricks is to play with the RRP. The dealers let us believe with specially designed campaign signs that the sales price shown is a real bargain compared to the supposed price before the campaign. In fact, it is only a comparison with the RRP or, in other words, a comparison with the manufacturer’s recommended retail price.

Which goals are actually pursued with discounts?

Many companies use discounts to encourage customers to buy. In doing so, you will pursue the following goals, among others:

Increase in sales
Strengthening customer loyalty (loyalty bonus)
Distribution of incoming orders
Maintain the exclusivity of the products offered through discounts instead of price reductions
Increase competitive advantage over the competition

Be honest with yourself

Now be honest with yourself. Don’t you sometimes buy a product from a special offer, for example 3 for 2, and when you unpack it at home you realize that you didn’t really want to buy that much? And are you sure that the base price, often also called RRP, was not simply increased before the 50% discount and that the product actually cost the same as after the 50% discount? Or do you seriously think that a store that offers big discounts gives you the product after the discount, so they don’t earn anything anymore? Couldn’t the suspicion also arise that the product was offered far too expensive before the discount anyway? You only have to ask yourself a few questions and you should quickly figure it out

This is our conclusion

Always give only the most necessary information about yourself, whether online or on site. Don’t be fooled by avoidable promotions and take advantage of advances in technology and compare prices online. Your money is only worth spending where your desired product is actually the cheapest.

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