False retail promotions and dishonest marketing tactics are not a new concept in the world of retail. It’s a deliberate ploy to lure in feet to stores as shoppers are always looking for a bargain to save money.
While some consumers scrutinize prices and “special offers,” many do not and fall into the trap set by stores. An example of such tactics is displayed in the post shared this week by Barry Roux on Twitter.
A ‘cheaper’ offer for chocolates was advertised, with the price for one slab totalling R11,99 and the grab two for special equating to R26 which is R2 more than the original price.
I know I wasn’t good in mathematics in school but something is wrong here. pic.twitter.com/sUQAMzVM6R
— Man’s NOT Barry Roux (@AdvoBarryRoux) July 5, 2021
Another special that stores adopt is the 3 for 2 offer which means you’re saving right? Not always, most stores hike up the prices of the items to make up for the “free” item you’ll be getting in the deal.
There are also the items that are marked down from R50 to R49,99, designed to play on the psyche that it’s a marked down.
A study recently examined deceptive pricing strategies and how effective they are in persuading customers to make the purchase.
The sample included 1000 people who were asked if they were more likely to buy an item with both the marked down price and the previous inflated price.
More than 84% of the respondents agreed that they would because it just made sense to buy an item that is valued at more and significantly marked down.
How to spot false retail advertising:
- Promotion catalogues that include items on special for the day, week or month have competing stores advertising similar products at different prices. Compare all the stores before making a decision on where to shop.
- Some stores offer mid-month specials which are sometimes priced higher than month end deals, so watch for this and don’t fall into the trap of shopping mid month.
- Check the labels. Clothing stores have been found to mark items on sale only to change the labels on items to be higher than the original price. But because it’s on the sale rack many people don’t think twice before buying. Always check the labels to see if there is another label underneath the new price.
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