The Illusion of Finding a Deal

Today I'm finally sharing a post I wrote several months ago. You wouldn't believe how many of these unpublished posts I have....

While running some errands last week, I went to the one-stop shop where I could get all of the following: fabric for an upcoming project, tacks, a storage bin, sandwich bags, and a couple random grocery items. Yes, this shop is a little franchise called Wal-Mart.

I tend to get distracted in this store and browse a few departments that I don't really NEED to go to. On my way from the fabric to the eggs, I saw a handful of people standing around and digging through a big bin in the electronics department.

You know the one.

There's a big $5 sign and that bin is full of movies, movies, movies galore. Sure, you can occasionally find a rare movie for a good deal, but a lot of the movies are the crappy ones that no one has heard of or even bothered to think about seeing.

But the most interesting dynamic about this bin and this particular Wal-Mart is that several of the movies found in the $5 bin (The ones you think "Score!" when you manage to dig them out) are actually also nice and organized on the shelf with clear stock and a matching price.

You just don't see people lining up to grab those copies off the shelf. So why are these bins so successful? Well, we, the deal-chasers, simply like the hunt and the sense of accomplishment it gives us.

If I see a movie I enjoy on the shelf with 4 or 5 copies for $5, I personally might think about it briefly before I decide I don't need to add another DVD to my collection. And I pass.

But if I see that same movie in a scattered bin of dumb and unappealing movies and think I've found the deal of the day, I will grab that DVD and hoard it in my cart until I make my way to the checkout to seal the deal on my awesome find.

I love this part of the article "Buyers Beware: The Many Ways Retailers Can Trick You."

"Several studies reveal how Americans shop in irrational ways, and increasingly scientists are figuring out how easily we can be duped. Retailers in turn use these tricks to get inside our heads, encouraging window shopers to become real shoppers, driving purchases of sales items regardless of real value, and helping buyers feel good about the things they walk out with ... often for no good reason."


The article "The Psychology of Shopping" by Aaron Crowe explores how numbers sway us, and specifically why we see 99 cents tacked onto a price instead of a just flat number.

"A $29.99 price, for example, has the illusion of being less expensive and is quickly viewed as "20-something," compared with a penny more, $30, which is viewed at first glance as costing "30-something"

Question of the Day: When has a special promotion, display, or incentive affected your decision to buy? (I'm totally thinking Black Friday!)