With spending money around the holidays virtually sending money out the window, it seems that retails may be tricking us to open our wallets even further. Before you go out shopping, it’s good to have a list, that way you can stick to the plan and save as best you can. No matter if it’s online shopping or retail, there is always the temptation to go overboard and make impulse purchases, but retailers may be putting on the charm even further to try to get us to spend more than we had planned.
Bribe with Nostalgia
No matter what age you are and now technologically advanced we are these days, it doesn’t stop us from being nostalgic when we see something from our childhood. Although buying music is a distant memory, when you see a vinyl of a band you like you can’t help but think about making a purchase. With the “new” classic Nintendo that has people fighting, and marking up the prices on the secondary market, nostalgia is clearly a factor that retailers can use to get us to spend more money, almost running to the store to buy in some cases.
Seem to Be More Sales
Sure, sales are great because they reduce the retail price, but if you don’t need the item in the first place then buying while on sale is not doing you any good as it is. It’s like coupons in the mail, you get excited because you see an item on sale, but if you weren’t planning to buy it, sure you’re saving 75 cents, but you’re spending a few dollars more than you would anyways. Now there is Black Friday, Cyber Monday, among others, it seems like every month there is a big deal. If you can time them right and do your Christmas Shopping, great, but that doesn’t mean you have to hit every one.
Music is Cranked Up
Whether it’s upbeat pop music or Christmas music, it sets the mood a little better than it does the instrumental elevator music that is usually on. Whether or not it gets you to spend more money is up to the consumer, but since shopping can be a chore as it is, anything will help, so if I’m happier when I’m out shopping, then I will open up the wallet a little more than I would if I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
The Rule of 9
Retailers have long figured out that even reducing a price by a penny is enough where it doesn’t seem so bad. If an item is $100, somehow to us it’s much better to pay $99.99 in our minds, and that seems to still be the trend at every store, except for the dollar store. I guess whatever helps in retailer’s minds, but if you just stick to a budget and a list when you do go out shopping, not to mention compare prices, you will be in good shape and can resist the temptation to spend more money and inflate your monthly spending.