Consumer Psychology: Why We Buy Things We Don't Need - The Secret Tricks Shops Use
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Introduction
Last month, I went to the market to buy only one thing, a small bottle of shampoo. I had 500 rupees in my pocket. But when I came back home, I had spent 3500 rupees. I had bought chips, a t-shirt on sale, a scented candle, and two coffee mugs that I never needed. I sat on my bed and thought, why did I do this? Why do I always buy more than I need?
If this has happened to you, please do not feel guilty. You are not alone and you are not careless. Big companies and big brands have a whole team of experts. Their only job is to understand how our brain works. They study our feelings, our fears, and our habits. Then they use that information to make us buy.
This field is called Consumer Psychology. It is the science of why we buy. In this article, I will explain in very simple words the secret tricks that shops, apps, and advertisements use every single day. After reading this, you will be able to save a lot of money. I am writing this from my own personal experience because I have wasted a lot of money before I learned these tricks.
What is Consumer Psychology in Simple Words?
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Imagine you have two people inside your brain. The first person is very fast and very emotional. He makes quick decisions. He loves fun, offers, and beautiful things. He says, "Buy it now, you will feel happy." Let's call him Fast Brain.
The second person is very slow and very logical. He thinks carefully. He checks your wallet, your needs, and your budget. He says, "Wait, do we really need this? Can we afford it?" Let's call him Slow Brain.
When we are relaxed and calm, our Slow Brain is in control. We make good decisions. But when we are tired after work, when we are sad, when we are very happy, or when we are in a hurry, our Slow Brain goes to sleep. And our Fast Brain takes over. And that is when we do impulse buying.
Marketing is designed to make your Slow Brain sleep. All the colors, the music in the mall, the words like "Only Today", the smell in the shop, everything is planned to wake up your Fast Brain. Once you understand this game, you will never be trapped again.
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Trick Number 1: The Urgency Trick - "Buy Now or You Will Lose"
What happens in your brain at that moment? You feel a little panic. Your heart beats a little faster. You think, "If I don't buy now, I will miss this great chance. Tomorrow the price will be high again." This feeling is called FOMO, which means Fear Of Missing Out.
The shop creates a fake sense of urgency. They make you feel that you have no time to think. And when you have no time to think, you cannot use your Slow Brain. You just click "Buy Now".
I will tell you my own story. Last year on 11.11 sale, I saw a jacket that said "Original price 8000, now 2500, only 2 hours left". I bought it in 5 minutes without checking the size properly. The jacket came and it was too small. And later I saw that the same jacket was available for 2500 for the whole week. The "2 hours left" was a lie. It was always there.
How to save yourself: Whenever you see "Only Today" or "Last Chance", close the app. Wait for 24 hours. If the offer is real, it will still be there. In 90% of cases, you will see the same offer again next week. Real shops don't need to pressure you.
Trick Number 2: The Price Game - The Decoy Effect
This trick is very clever and you see it every day but you never notice it. Let me give you a simple example that you have definitely seen.
You go to a cinema to buy popcorn. The price list says: Small Popcorn - 400 Rupees. Medium Popcorn - 750 Rupees. Large Popcorn - 800 Rupees.
Which one will you buy? Most people will buy the Large one. They think, "Medium is 750 and Large is only 50 rupees more. So Large is a better deal." So they spend 800.
But actually, the shop never wanted to sell the Medium popcorn. The Medium price is fake. It is called a Decoy. Its only job is to make the Large look cheap. If there was no Medium, you would have compared Small (400) and Large (800). You would have thought Large is too expensive and you would have bought Small. But because of the Medium, you bought the most expensive one.
The same trick is used for mobile phones. iPhone 128GB - $800, 256GB - $850, 512GB - $1100. You will buy the 256GB one because it looks like the best value. The same happens on burger deals. Single burger 500, double burger deal with fries and drink 650. You will buy the deal even if you are not very hungry.
This is not a mistake by the company. It is planned. They know how our brain compares prices. We always choose what looks like a bargain, even if we don't need it.
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Trick Number 3: The Free Shipping Trap
This is my least favorite trick because I have lost a lot of money to it. You see a website that says, "Free Delivery on orders above 3000 Rupees." You have added things worth 2200 rupees to your cart. What do you do?
You think, "If I pay delivery, I will waste 250 rupees. Better to add something else worth 800 rupees and get free delivery." So you add a lipstick or a wallet or a pair of socks that you don't need, just to reach 3000.
But think about it logically. You wanted to spend 2200 + 250 delivery = 2450. But to save 250, you actually spent 3000. You did not save 250, you wasted an extra 550 rupees. And the company is happy because they sold one more item.
The company knows that the words "Free Shipping" are magic. Our brain hates paying for shipping. We feel like we are paying for nothing. So we will buy more things just to avoid it. It feels like we won something, but we actually lost money.
The solution is simple. Always calculate the total. If you need to add things just for free shipping, it is better to pay the shipping fee. Or better, wait and buy when you really have 3000 rupees worth of needed items.
Trick Number 4: Social Proof and Colors
Have you ever noticed why all SALE signs are in red color? And why most banks and trustable brands use blue color? Because colors control our feelings. Red creates urgency and excitement. It makes your Fast Brain active. That is why you see red tags on discounts. Blue creates a feeling of trust and safety. Green is used for natural and healthy products.
Another big trick is Social Proof. You see on a website, "150 people are viewing this product right now" or "Anam from Lahore just bought this 5 minutes ago" or the product has "4.8 stars with 2300 reviews".
When you see that many other people are buying it, your brain thinks, "If so many people are buying it, it must be good. I should also buy it." We are social humans. We like to follow the crowd. Shops use this to build trust quickly.
Sometimes those reviews are real, but many times those pop-ups like "Someone just bought this" are fake and automatically generated. They are just there to push you.
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Why We Are More Vulnerable When We Are Emotional
Let me be honest with you. I shop the most when I am sad or stressed. After a bad day at university or after a fight with a friend, I open my phone and I order food or clothes. And for 10 minutes, I feel better. This is called emotional shopping or retail therapy.
Marketers know this very well. That is why perfume ads never talk about the smell. They show a confident, beautiful woman who everyone loves. They are not selling perfume, they are selling confidence. Cold drink ads show a group of young friends laughing on a beach. They are not selling a drink, they are selling friendship and happiness.
When you are feeling lonely, you buy things that promise to make you feel loved. When you are feeling low, you buy things that promise to make you feel confident. Instagram and TikTok make this worse. You see your favorite influencer with a new bag, and you feel that your life is boring. You feel you need that bag to be happy like her. But her photo is just an advertisement. She was paid to show that bag.
How I Changed My Habits and How You Can Too - 5 Golden Rules
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I did not learn this in one day. It took me one year to control my spending. Here are the 5 rules that actually worked for me and are very easy to follow.
Rule 1: The 24-Hour Rule.
This is the most powerful rule. If you want to buy something that is not food or medicine, and it costs more than 1000 rupees, wait for 24 hours. Just add it to your wishlist and close the app. Go to sleep. Next day, if you still remember it and you still feel you need it, then think again. I promise you, 9 out of 10 times, you will forget about it. This one rule has saved me more than 40,000 rupees this year.
Rule 2: Make a List and Respect Your List.
Before you go to any market, or before you open Daraz or any grocery app, take a small piece of paper and write what you need. For example: 1. Milk 2. Bread 3. Shampoo. And make a promise to yourself that you will buy only those three things. If you see something else that looks attractive, tell yourself, "It is not on my list, so I will not buy it." This is very hard in the beginning, but it becomes a habit.
Rule 3: Understand Needs vs Wants.
A need is something you cannot live without. Like food, rent, basic clothes, medicines. A want is something that is nice to have but you can live without. Like a third pair of shoes, a new phone cover, or expensive coffee. Before you pay, ask yourself, "Is this a need or a want?" If it is a want, you can wait.
Rule 4: Unsubscribe and Unfollow.
If you keep getting emails that say "BIG SALE TODAY", you will eventually buy something. Go to your email and unsubscribe from all shopping newsletters. On Instagram, mute or unfollow the pages that only show you shopping hauls and make you feel insecure. If you don't see the temptation, you won't feel the desire. Out of sight, out of mind.
Rule 5: The 3-Question Test.
Before you finally pay, stop for 10 seconds and ask these three questions loudly in your mind. One: Do I already have something similar at home? Two: Can I live happily for the next 30 days without this? Three: If I don't buy this, will I have more money for my important goals, like my education or my emergency fund? If the answer makes you realize you don't need it, put it back.
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Final Words
Marketing itself is not a bad thing. Good products need good marketing. But you should buy because YOU decided to buy, not because an ad tricked your brain. You work very hard for your money, whether it is pocket money from your parents or salary from your job. You should respect your hard work.
From today, when you see "LIMITED TIME OFFER" or "ONLY 2 LEFT", just smile and say to yourself, "I know this trick." You are now smarter than the advertisement. Remember, the best financial decision is often the decision to NOT buy.
Start with the 24-hour rule this week. I am sure you will see a big difference in your savings at the end of the month. Every rupee you save from impulse buying is a rupee you can save for your dreams. You are in control.
Also Read: What is Financial Literacy? Why Every Student Must Learn Money Management
Written By: Kinzay Aslam
Founder: Kinzay Writer From Chiniot
Blog: kinzaych826stories.blogspot
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