Even the most faithful Ikea enthusiasts will reveal how hard it is to navigate the maze-like store. Want to sound smart? It’s called the “Gruen effect” — the simple idea behind this is that exposing you to more products will encourage you to purchase even more products. You can also see this in action at your local supermarket, where you’ll need to cross through as much of the store as possible to get that gallon of milk tucked away in the furthest back corner.
Another thing Ikea does very well, is the exhibition rooms at the front of the store, making you see how beautiful the sofa you want to buy, will look with four exquisite cushions, for $65 apiece.
Sneaky Upselling
"Would you like to add a special item for 99 cents?" If you've ever ordered at a fast-food chain, you've no doubt heard of this casual attempt at upselling. And if you've shopped online, you've certainly been shown items related to the product you're checking out or bundles of related items sold for less than what they would cost if bought separately.
So is this a deal? Only if you were planning to do it, to begin with. When you think of it, $0.99 is nothing, especially when you are about to spend much more on whatever it is you are buying. But stop for a moment and think how many customers in one day, add $0.99. That works out to a little bit more than nothing.
Social Proof
There's a reason that a brand you've never heard of is broadcasting all its five-star reviews in a gush of Facebook ads. You'll probably be a lot more interested in a product — and more inclined to buy, of course — if "everyone" is raving about it. This simple concept is called "social proof" in marketing and it also applies to companies when they have expert testimonials or include sales numbers in their advertising.
Are all of these reviews genuine? We don't know. Did all of the hotel visitors on Booking, really stay at the hotel? We can't say. What we can say is, reviews are objective, nine times out of ten they are written by someone who has a personal interest, and at the end of the day, personal experience os the best measure of product quality.
That’s a Big Swing
If we do the math here, one Mb equals 1000k, so if their minimum speed is 256k, it could vary by 1000 to 2000k. Technically, that means the speed could just be 0. We don't want to call this broadband provider out for being dishonest, but if it wasn't for this asterisk, they should definitely be charged with intent to commit fraud with a misleading statement.
Next time we suggest knocking on someone's door, you know is connected to the internet provider you are thinking o joining, and see for yourself how things run. That is the only way to get accurate information. Honesty is beyond them.
Decoy Prices
Many people would recoil when it comes to dishing out $50 for a T-shirt. But what if you were also shown a $25 T-shirt and a $100 T-shirt? Suddenly the $50 T-shirt doesn't seem so pricey anymore — and if you want to balance price and quality, it seems entirely reasonable. Chances are the retailer wants you to choose a certain one and will price one of the other options — the "decoy" — in an excessive way that will steer you back to the 'more reasonable' option.
The easiest way to get around this is to set a budget before going out shopping. If you decide that $35 is the max you are willing to pay for a new top, then no matter where they place the more expensive one or the less attractive one, if it's more than what you want to pay, the positioning has no meaning.