How Russians are forced to buy too much: five cunning tricks of sellers

A marketer talks about how consumers are persuaded to spend money on things they don’t need.

Consumer demand in Russia is limited: many do not have enough money for purchases. However, sellers have their own goal – to encourage consumers to purchase a product or service. And here, as in war, all means, or rather, marketing techniques, are good. Therefore, very often it turns out like this: we go to the store to buy bread, and leave with a set of completely unnecessary things, and even in some cases with a loan. Most often, in order for a client to make an unplanned purchase, the 5 most common techniques are used. What are these schemes and how to counter them? Oleg Maltsev, head of the international marketing agency IMA, told MK about this.

-Is it true that a test drive is pure marketing? In other words, it is a marketing tool with all the ensuing consequences. Using a test drive, you can solve two problems. The first is approbation, testing of a new product. The second is selling.

– Everyone who is somehow familiar with psychology knows that a person is extremely reluctant to part with what he has already tried, held in his hands, and perhaps even felt as his own. Therefore, consumers are often offered to try something before paying. The likelihood that a person will buy this product is much higher. In addition, it is not so easy for the buyer to turn around and leave when he has used the product and paid nothing for it. Therefore, in stores you can often find presentation stands with food, drinks, household appliances, etc., where girls or boys literally grab the hands of every person passing by and convince them to test the product.

– Despite the fact that last year was difficult, installment plans in consumer electronics, communications, furniture and clothing stores remain a relevant payment tool. In addition, the share of consumer loans in retail trade turnover is growing steadily. Loans and installment plans – a way to get consumers to buy more?

– When it comes to unplanned purchases, especially large ones, a person may not have the required amount of money with him and this becomes an argument to refuse. But in modern marketing this is no longer a problem. Any more or less self-respecting brand or store has been cooperating with different banks for a long time, so they will be happy to offer you a loan or installment plan. Everything so that you can afford the product right now. This is a trap from which it is not so easy to get out, because the loan payment seems to be small, and a new thing, even if not particularly necessary, beckons and promises to open a new world of pleasures. In many cases, when they offer to take a product on credit or arrange an installment plan, the consumer is inclined to conclude: “I can afford it!” When applying for an installment plan, you should be especially careful; often they issue an ordinary loan with the same or higher interest rate; the calculation is made that the consumer, inspired by the new thing, will not look closely at the details.

-Tell us about the marketing technique: “Only today and only now.” This is probably the most common method of manipulation that is used on Russians every day. On various sites they write: “another 50 people are viewing the product” or “this is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” and the consumer involuntarily begins to reach for his wallet or bank card. Does the method work?

– This is a well-known technique, however, it works almost flawlessly. Especially when it comes to selling related products that the consumer did not intend to purchase in principle. For example, when buying a mattress, a person is offered a big discount on pillows, bed linen, bedspreads, etc., but it is valid “only now and only with this product.” The “three for the price of two” principle, etc. also works great here. The task is to force a person to buy as many goods as possible. One simple principle will help you protect yourself from unnecessary spending – remember, it is better to save even a small amount of 200-300 rubles and buy something really necessary with it, than to spend it on something that will eventually gather dust in the closet.

– How else are people forced to spend unnecessary expenses?

– We are increasingly making purchases online. In this format, on the one hand, it is more difficult for cunning marketers to influence a person’s choice, because the likelihood of impulsive purchases is low, but on the other hand, there are also methods for this case. For example, targeted advertising. It works on the principle that the more often we see something, the more interest it begins to generate. In some situations, it may even seem that everyone is only using a certain product or service. We can see “stars” and ordinary people telling us how much they need this product and how useful it is. In such a situation, it is difficult to figure out whether we really need something new or whether they are trying to make us believe it.

– And if we talk about fashion trends? Their goal is to motivate consumers?

– Yes, one of the most obvious and proven methods that force us to send things that are still good and usable to a landfill and buy new ones, which are not much different in functionality from the old ones, but are currently at the peak of popularity.