Mood lighting, music and other retail tricks
Have you ever popped into Kmart to buy a $5 t-shirt but left with a new outdoor dining suite, trampoline and bike for the kids?
Shops make their money by encouraging us to spend more than we plan to, every time we walk through their doors. Here are some of their tactics.
Loss-leaders
You might pop in for a cheap hoodie to keep you warm in a cold snap but the store is banking on you buying more.
Bodo Lang, head of the marketing department at the University of Auckland, said anything that was likely to be popular but on which retailers would not make much, or any, money, would be considered a loss-leader.
‘‘The purpose of loss-leaders is solely to get you in the store with the hope that you will then also buy a full-price item that will compensate for the lack of profit on the loss-leader.’’
John Murray, senior lecturer in marketing at Massey University, said shops would often display low-margin, popular items next to high-margin products, to make this tactic more effective.
Bogus specials
Don’t take discounts at face value. New Zealand retailers have a legal obligation to advertise a ‘‘sale’’ only when a product is actually cheaper than it normally would be, but that does not mean you might not find a better price elsewhere.
Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, New Zealand country manager for price comparison site PriceSpy, said discounts were sometimes made out to be a better deal than they really were.
‘‘When a retailers offers a discount or sale on a product, many will offer a price comparison on that particular item to help consumers feel they are getting a great deal or discount they couldn’t possibly miss out on.
‘‘However, there is every reason to be sceptical of a shop’s own price comparison, as they quite clearly have a lot to gain by making the difference between the ‘regular price’ and the sale price appear as large as possible.’’
Music
Slow-tempo music is used to encourage you to take your time.
‘‘Shops want to increase the amount of time people spend so they don’t want anything that will excite shoppers – it needs to be music that’s relaxing,’’ said Mike Lee, senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Auckland.
Murphy said shops would usually use music under 90 beats per minute. They would also avoid songs that were too familiar. If someone was waiting to be served, for instance, recognised a song and realised they had been waiting for its entire duration, it would seem time was passing more slowly.
But some shops choose music for branding purposes, such as young people’s clothing stores or electronics outlets, which often blast pop music. Lee said this could backfire on retailers because the people who had more money to spend found the music off-putting.
Big red sales signs
A big red sign is likely to make you stop and pay attention. But it often does not actually indicate more of a price reduction than any other ‘‘sale’’ promo.
Murray said shops had to be careful of using too much of the colour. If a lot of red was used around more expensive products, it could be off-putting and reduce shoppers’ engagement with the item.
Limited specials
If something is on special, it gives it more cachet if the retailer says it’s only available for a limited time, or you can only have a limited number of items.
This also works for brands that offer ‘‘pre-orders’’ on a new collection that’s coming soon. If it seems like something that a lot of people will want, there’s more incentive to buy early.
Mirrors and lighting
There’s a reason something that looks amazing in the changing room doesn’t always look so fabulous when you get it home. Lighting is designed to be flattering when you’re looking in a shop’s mirror, and some retailers tilt their mirrors so that everyone’s reflection looks longer and leaner.
Peachy or gold lights on the walls nearby are designed to create a blurring effect to minimise imperfections.
Daytime is hidden
Lee says you are unlikely to see a clock anywhere in a shop because retailers do not want you to know how long you have spent in-store. Many maximise their use of artificial light for the same reason.
Bargain bins
It might look like shop staff have just dumped things in a box at the end of an aisle, but Lee says there’s a cunning plan at work.
‘‘If they want to give the impression there is a huge bargain and stuff will go like crazy, there’s the bargain bin.
‘‘Sometimes it’s all deliberately messed up, not nicely folded, to create the illusion of it constantly being moved and you’ve got to get in quick.’’
Impulse buys
Most shops have a display of smaller items at the checkout or somewhere near the entrance of the shop.
‘‘These are typically items that have a lower price tag, don’t require much thought to assess and appeal to our need to seek out novel and new information and break out of the mould of our everyday purchases,’’ Lang said.
‘‘Examples are chewing gum, lipstick, sweets, or other low-priced items that we simply grab because of the diversion they provide. Once consumers are in the store and have decided to purchase such items, they are far more likely to buy other, more expensive items.’’