Uncovering The Psychological Secrets Of Shopping Sales

The season for those much-awaited shopping sales are coming right up your alley. Your piggy banks are ready for their sentence with hammers and your hearts are daydreaming that exciting shopping experience! Yippie!
But wait a minute! Have you ever noticed anything fishy during sale periods? If you find out the marketing magic behind the catchy sale offers, would you spare yourself from the sale period spell? Well, before surrendering into the incense of shopping sales, try on pondering what we have to share. Afterall, we always want you to splurge money for something worth it. So, learn some tips from the psychological secrets of these shopping sales.
The big 3-day sale announcements
“Get these items for a limited time offer”
“The big 3-day northern sale”
“Christmas sale from December 18-23 only!”
Don’t these hard-selling announcements just make you want to plan your calendars ahead? Don’t these also make you feel pumped-up with the great finds you’ll be able to buy? Well, if you’re getting an overall sense of urgency, then that’s how you’re really supposed to feel. But you have to watch your step first before the welcome mats of the shopping doors. In psychology, urgency is said to be the most powerful aspect of human behavior. Yes, urgent situations cause you to suspend decision-making skills and act quickly without second thoughts. Come to think of it, if we have 365 days in a year, learning about sale periods feels like a shopping event you’ve been waiting for. It’s no wonder we get all hyped on sale period announcements.
BIG SALES on selected items
Another rabbit from the hat is the big and bold words next to the small words.
Notice how they highlight the words sale or discounts and leave the selected items in a smaller type font format? Well, that’s a marketing psychological trick. The big words manage to blind you from the fact it’s on selected items. It really works in attracting you from afar. You don’t second guess yourself and instead proceed to the gates of the shopping boutiques. In a study conducted,the larger the font sizes, the higher the ability it elicits stronger emotional connections. That’s the gravity pull of bigger and bolder texts. It pulls you in, and it tugs your emotional connection to go in and shop for sales. The next time that happens, you know why.
Racks and racks of clothes and stuff
Ah yes! During shopping sale periods, the choices are definitely overwhelming. You might notice that stores are filled with racks and racks of clothes. Your options feel endless! But don’t fret, psychologists call this “choice overload.” This happens when people are laid with too many choices clouding their decision-making skills. Sure, it doesn’t help the store to let customers decide immediately, and though it is ideal that fewer options lead to an increase in sales, this strategy gives a different positive effect to shopping stores. It actually allows its customers to keep finding themselves in one shopping store and then another. It’s not surprising to realize that you have been roaming around giving an opportunity for stores to show what sales they can offer. That’s a pretty smart move.
Yellow tags over original tag prices
The common thing we encounter during sale periods are yellow tags over original tag prices!  The oldest trick in the bag! Psychology of pricing says that this strategy gives you the impression of comparison. It also automatically suggests you to think that you are getting the best price deals for your items. However, we got dirty beans to spill. An insider claims that the original price sometimes doesn’t change at all. As a matter of fact, the discounted tags over the original tag prices is just an illusion to the real deal. Sorry to burst your bubble, sometimes what you thought you bought for a lower price is sometimes the actual price. A tip from the insider, try to observe the strategy and check the same item before, during and after the sale period. Discovering the truth will set you free, right?
Sales personnel and their persuasive demeanor
Sale periods are the full moon of sales people. This is when they are the most active and most alert. With the influx of items and number of customers, they are tasked to give it their one hundred percent. Notice how much more persuasive the sales personnel are during sales period? They would be generally much more approachable, and offer you items that may piqued your taste. Mostly, in department stores, a cooperation can be observed. One saleslady will tell you their item has a lower discount than its competition. To be honest, they’re a working friendly competition. So, it all boils down to you as the shopper, get persuaded and end up buying what you shouldn’t or be the captain of your ship.
Act Now! Only Few Items Left!
We’re usually greeted with this strategy by shopping stores on sale seasons. This perfectly describes the psychology of limited resources. It gets you to take immediate action thinking the products are limited, scarce or in demand. Pretty guilty for having to fall for this style. Plus, takeaway is really an effective urgency-booster in sales. When we feel threatened that the item’s stock is about to get off the market, we are more likely to act in a hurry. It wires our brain to think that you should act now or regret later. Have you ever felt that way?  
It’s the last stock left.
Ever encountered a sales lady commending you for buying the last stock? Well, you’re in for a harsh truth, it turns out you’re not the only one (Sam Smith now playing). Similar to the act now strategy, psychology calls this loss aversion. It is the human tendency to avoid losing things. It claims that the desire NOT to lose something is greater than the desire to gain something. When we get hooked with the thought that it’s the last item left in stock, this gives you the feeling to have it rather than losing it. It’s more of an emotional response than a smart decision. So when you face such a situation, and you end up paying for the item by the counter, you know the answer to your question, “why did I buy that?”
Php 699, Php1999, Php 399
Seriously, have you ever thought why prices are Php 1999 instead of Php 2,000? Don’t your eyebrows meet when you see items priced ending on nines? Well, there’s a good explanation as to why the prices are not rounded. This is called charm pricing in product pricing. You as consumers tend to perceive “odd prices” as being lower than they really are. Research explains that these types of pricing imply value in a very powerful way. You are much more likely to perceive that the prices are discounted. So if it ever occurred to you ending up purchasing the item, then we can smirk at the fact it’s really effective.
The bottomline: it’s business after all. Shopping sale period is a challenging event for both shoppers and shopping businesses, it’s the time when shoppers use their purchasing power and when shopping businesses use their persuasive marketing skills to grab your attention. 
If you want to really go shopping with authentic and branded items, why not look onto our newest online shop, Marketplace by Pawnhero. We haveauthentic pre-loved branded items on bargain prices! All the best deals for you! It’s much more exciting than going through a hassle mall sale.
Do you have any sale shopping secrets to share? Feel free to comment on the comments section. Do like us on Facebook  and visit our Pawnhero website!