Beware Not to Overspend!

Tricks Some Department Stores Use to Make You Overspend

Let’s face it: a department store is in the business of making money. Whether it is through marking up their merchandise or getting you into the store to spend, retailers have one goal in mind and that is the bottom line: if you do not spend, they do not stay in business. There has to be a profit. Off course, there is nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, it is easy for some consumers at times to fall prey to tricks of the trade used to make you overspend. Knowing these, you can take a well-informed decision to go with the offering or not as sometimes it can be very beneficiary for the consumer and necessarily trickery to make you overspend. Off course this is not an exhaustive list, I am just jotting down a couple of them, which were played on me only yesterday at my local department store.

The “Spend” More Get “More” Incentive

One of the biggest tricks retailers use to get you to overspend is by enticing you to spend a set and specific dollar amount. For example, one might offer you a coupon detailing that if you spend $50.00 or more, you will get $10.00 back. So, if you went into your local department store simply for an extra pair of pantyhose, they might put you up with a dilemma. Now you are faced with the choice of purchasing more than you went in for simply for the sake of getting that $10.00 back in your pocket.

Retailers feed into your logical side enticing you to think, “Well, I am here now and I will probably need something anyhow, so why not buy it now and get that $10.00 back in my pocket.” And, this works. Again, nothing wrong here, when you realize that taking advantage of this opportunity get’s you the things you need with less cash out. If you end up buying any stuff for the sake of the amount, that might not be the best bargain.

The “Use Your Credit Card and Get a Coupon” Incentive

This is something that is specifically done by those stores that have their own “branded” Credit Card. They love to get you to use your credit card and it is not for your benefit either. Based on statistic, chances are that if you use your credit card, you will overspend, you will not be able to pay it back fully in due time, and thereby they collect interest off your purchase.

They might offer you an incentive in the form of a coupon via email for your next purchase or an on-the-spot discount for simply using your credit card. How many times have you used your credit card and spent more than you needed to get that incentive and wound up not being able to pay the bill? If that was the case, they just hooked you and reeled you in to overspend. So again, nothing wrong in using plastic to pay, but use it wisely.

Placing Random Items on End Caps Near Registers

Most, if not all stores have strategically placed items right at the point of checkout. This is in the hopes of securing a last-minute impulse purchase. Over the last years the offering has changed due to the “smart phone blindness” (we are staring at our phone while standing in line instead of looking around, like we used to). So now, many of those items are in the form of candy, gum, soda or targeted towards kids. This wreaks havoc on parents with small children on their way to check out. Retailers know the power of a childs scream in a public place. Retailers know that most parents will avoid a scene with their child and the unwelcome stares of strangers at all costs, even if it means a pack of gum washed down with a soda or buying a small toy…

These are just a few things to be aware of when it comes to anybody getting you to overspend. The important thing is to recognize them and not fall prey.

Have a conscious day!

Filip