Black Friday: These psychological tricks trick us into buying

The latest smartphone, the beautiful gold chain or the third winter parka – for the really cold days – we make consumption decisions almost every day. Sometimes because we really need something. But we are often tempted to buy products. This is not as difficult as you think – and often happens in our subconscious.

Especially on the Internet, marketing experts and advertisers use the entire range of consumer psychology to convince users of their offers. It’s not uncommon for users to find themselves scrolling through social media and naturally filling the shopping cart of any online shop. Especially during the week of Black Friday, numerous companies use various psychological tricks to persuade customers to buy.

Neuroscientists now agree that we make most purchasing decisions on an emotional rather than a rational basis. Nevertheless, it can be incredibly helpful to know the psychological mechanisms behind the sales strategy of online shops and companies in order to be able to understand them at an early stage if in doubt. So that in the future you only buy what you really need – or want – we will give you an overview of the most common psychological tricks in marketing.

Time pressure: Black Friday is the best example of this marketing strategy. We only have a week or a day to get what appear to be the biggest bargains. So we have to decide quickly – and therefore, when in doubt, refrain from thinking rationally about the purchase decision. Instead, we trust our first impulses and, when in doubt, click on “Order now” if we can’t do anything with the product.

Spoiled for choice: Have you ever noticed that digital offerings are often available in three pricing models? This is not a coincidence, but a tactic. A well-known psychological phenomenon shows that customers tend to choose the cheaper one when faced with two offers. But as soon as there are three options, most people buy the middle offer. Why? We think this gives us the best value for money. This is usually the product that companies want to sell.

Flood of information: The more information provided about a product, the higher quality it appears to us. Manufacturers like to take advantage of this, especially with technical devices, as they can easily hide weak points in the flood of information. Because it is the first and last pieces of information that are stuck with prospective buyers, everything in between becomes blurred. With a targeted introduction and an activating conclusion, advertisers can convince us of products – even if they have properties that we don’t like.

It depends on the color: Blue, green or black – it makes an enormous difference what color the product and the digital environment of the offer are. Discounts and special offers are often red for good reason – the color is stimulating and alarming and therefore encourages us to take action. Blue is also often used because the color inspires confidence, while green has a natural and relaxing effect. So it’s worth taking a closer look – and reflecting on whether the color plays a role in the purchase decision.

Priming and framing: Advertising doesn’t just hit us when we notice it, but often long before. To do this, marketing experts like to use two well-known mechanisms from perception psychology.

Priming is initially about influencing the thoughts and actions of prospective buyers by providing information. Black Friday is a good example here too. Customers have been reading for weeks that there will be unbeatable offers and low prices – so they perceive the products accordingly.

But the same thing can also be done more subtly: through certain images and videos, advertisers put products in a certain emotional context. For example, when it comes to Coca Cola, many people think of the Christmas truck and when it comes to Red Bull, many think that the energy drink gives them wings. This brings us to framing. Here, products are placed in an emotional framework in order to give the user a corresponding feeling, which they then associate with the product.

Tell me a story: We humans love and live stories. So it’s no wonder that the economy is also taking advantage of this. Whole life stories are built around products so that they reach us as emotionally as possible. We don’t buy the article, but also the story behind it.

Social proof: Many companies rely on influencer marketing these days – and with success. When people we follow on social media suggest a product to us, we are usually more likely to hear it than in other ways. This is because we unconsciously base ourselves very much on the opinions of others. Reviews also trigger similar emotions in us, which is why many providers sometimes rely on fake 5 stars to attract new customers.

Tit for tat: A free trial here, a trial subscription there and a few goodies on top: Sometimes you wonder why so many online shops have something to give away. There is often no altruistic idea behind this, but simply a sales strategy. The so-called law of reciprocity states that when we receive something as a gift, we unconsciously develop the urge to give something back. Free giveaways increase the likelihood that we will actually buy something from our patron.

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