"When you see words like "buy now" or "flash deal," while shopping, take caution, say our experts. Retailers use a sense of urgency to push consumers to make quicker shopping decisions, Vines says. They don't want you to think too hard about the purchase. This strategy also relies on shoppers' fear of missing out, Weekes says. It makes people think, "if I don't purchase this right now, I'll never get this deal again.""
"When you see a price tag that displays an item's "original price," say $200, next to the current price, say $75, that's called price anchoring. "It makes people fixate on that [higher] price versus the sale price," Weekes says. It can also make the product appear higher-value, making you want it more. A lot of the time, that "original price" was never the original price - or hasn't been that price for a long time, Weekes says."
Retailers deploy urgency language such as "buy now" or "flash deal" to encourage rapid purchases and leverage fear of missing out. Urgency prompts quicker decisions and can make shoppers buy solely because a deal feels immediate rather than valuable. Price anchoring shows an inflated "original price" beside a sale price to make discounts appear larger and the item seem higher-value. Many advertised "original prices" were never that high or haven't been for long. Shoppers should pause before buying, focus on the actual sale price, and compare or wait for better seasonal deals.
Read at KPBS Public Media
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