The last months of winter are the time of big sales all over the world. Russia is no exception. Despite the fact that times are difficult now, the number of shopaholics is not decreasing, but growing. After all, the point of shopping is not just to buy, but to buy cheap!
Until recently, I also believed that the end of summer and winter is the most favorable time for shopping. I was sure that during the discount season, you can save a lot by buying, say, outfits on the eve of a bright spring.
However, when I got to the first of the fashionable corners, I was at a loss. It is not clear in which corner the discounted one is located. And is it really 70%.
I was lucky to meet on the air of the TV Center channel with one of the industry gurus, a member of the board of the guild of marketers, Nicholas Corot. I eagerly absorbed all his advice and I hasten to share with you 5 ways how not to get burned on sales.
1. DISCOUNT IS FALSE, YES HINTS IN IT
It turns out that we are cheated everywhere in the shops. You cannot unquestioningly believe if the signs in red and white read: minus 60-80%.
As a rule, we will not find such discounts on the price tags. There is a simple psychological calculation: the buyer is unlikely to notice the forgery and, since he has come, he does not want to leave without a purchase.
Another way to cheat is replacing old price tags with new, beautiful labels with old prices and the new word SALE. But be careful, most likely, there is no sale at all. If the old price is not indicated, you are simply bred.
Or such a technique: let's say the price tag is not new, and the discounts are real. It was 10,000 rubles, and now it's 2,500. Wow! Now do not be lazy and pick your finger. You will find that in front of you is an ordinary stale product. Its price has been reduced three times already! And holiday discounts have nothing to do with it. Also, sellers sometimes deliberately inflate the price on the eve of sales, and then report a discount on the product.
2. DO LOTS OF ALL "NECESSARY" THINGS
It often happens that in the store right in the center there is a huge pile of things. It seems that the buyers were in such a hurry, they wanted to buy so much that they gutted the shelves, and the sellers do not even have time to arrange the goods neatly, as expected.
Do not believe it! This is another trick. It is designed for the "contagion effect". And the heaps of things randomly piled on the shelves during the sales are just another marketing ploy.
The more you rummage through them, the more chances that you will buy several units instead of one desired blouse. And quite possibly very expensive. But if you suddenly notice this fact, the seller, without batting an eye, will answer: “What are you? The item from the new collection came here by accident. We're not on purpose. »In short, do not believe in the excitement!
3. LOOK LEFT
Most of us are right-handed and, when entering a store, automatically look to the right, which is used by the owners of boutiques. New collections, expensive things are located exactly to the right, near the entrance. But to get to the discount product, you have to go through the entire trading floor. What if the buyer is in a hurry and something will interest him not at half the price? This is how we part with the contents of the wallet already at the entrance, succumbing to an impulsive impulse.
4. NO CARDS, CASH ONLY
It is necessary to determine in advance the amount that you are ready to spend on your trip for sale items. And in no case take bank cards. Because the temptation to buy more and more can, as a result, push you to a reckless act - to lower your entire salary without thinking about more important, vital things (food, medicine, rent, credit).
5. CLEAR PLAN OF ACTION
You can flip through magazines in advance or look at the stores' websites what exactly is needed. Before entering the store, you should put on headphones with music and clearly move in a given direction. When we understand where we are going, rather than wandering around, then there is a better chance of not falling for the hook of smart and cunning marketers.
For example, do not "blur" from the smells and comfort in the so-called "comfort zones". These are anchors created with a special purpose: so that visitors can sit, “chirp”, drink coffee with a delicious bun and gaze around at the showcases fanned out around them.
Another anchor is a cinema or bowling club. It turns out that they are specially placed at the extreme point of the shopping center (somewhere farther from the entrance). The task - the road to them should run past the maximum possible number of stores. For the same purpose, escalators for ascent and descent between floors are most often located at different ends of the shopping center.
6. SETPLE THE PURCHASE DECISION
I have many friends for whom going to the store is stress therapy. But no one wants to buy a bunch of unnecessary junk.
There is a way out: with the thought of the desired thing you need to "sleep". Especially if it's expensive. Do not rush to the checkout right away. Set aside the coveted new thing for at least an hour (preferably a day). You look, during this time the attack of shopaholism will let go and you will look with different eyes at the postponed dresses, blouses and coats.
7. "SHOPPING LAWYER"
And the last way to save money on purchases. When you go on sale, take your husband or friend with you and play with him as a "good" and "bad" guy.
Let's say one is for a purchase, and the other is, as it were, against. Moreover, you should argue not with the seller, but among yourself, but so that the seller understands: if he does not yield in price, the buyers will leave.
Then do as the author of the book "Effective Trading" Michael Bosworth advises: “If you wash the floor, what do you do when the rag picks up too much liquid? That's right, squeeze it out. When do you stop squeezing? When the water stops flowing For us, the seller is such a rag. And you should always try to squeeze it out to see if something else will flow out of it - a discount, free shipping, consultation or interest-free installments. And while the "water" is flowing, the buyer must reap. Click!"
These are my ways. And they work - tested already this January. It's up to you! Let's learn how to make the "right" purchases and still save the family budget!
