The Sale Trap

Do you get the urge to spend during a sale? Read this before embarking on your next bargain hunt.

- Sisonke Labase

It’s the sale season again. Stores are getting rid of winter stock and the big red four-letter word – SALE – is there for all to see. Every shop is selling its wares for lower prices, and who can resist? In the frenzy for a good deal, consumers appear to be blind to reality. Take the case last year, when a retailer was caught out and exposed for a sale price that was actually more than the original price. Yes, retailers do that, and more, to attract us to their stores. Another of the tricks they use is stressing the limited duration – if you don’t buy at the sale, you’ll miss out! The phrases “one day only”, “limited stock” and “while stocks last” are all used to pressurise us to spend.

Social psychologist Robert Cialdini says retail sales are about mind games. “Retailers use phrases like ‘Buy one, get one free’ or ‘Buy three and only pay for two’ to make you believe that you’ll be missing out on a bargain if you don’t spend at a sale.”

Michiel Hejimans, a marketing consultant and the chief operating officer at Yoast, a search-engine optimisation firm in the Netherlands, agrees, saying words carry a lot of influence. “For instance, the sentence ‘Get x off’ emphasises achieving a gain, while ‘Save x off’ emphasises avoiding loss. Research has found that such wording motivates you to buy more, even if other products that you buy are not actually on sale.”

THE COLOURS