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Discounts, bonuses, special promotions… Seeing something attractive on the website of an online store, we are in a hurry to make the coveted click. How are we forced to spend more than we intended, and how to avoid this?
For many of us, shopping online is a way to deal with stress. “When I add an item to the shopping cart, I enjoy it, I get a sense of celebration,” says 34-year-old Vera. “Shopping on the Web helps to distract from the gray everyday life, and it’s so easy!”
Such a reaction is characteristic of many: when we find on the Web the most profitable, as it seems to us, offer, dopamine is produced in the body – the hormone of joy, which is sometimes so lacking! But what are the consequences of such a simple way to have fun?
Weak and weak
Last year’s lockdown forced many to master online shopping and start buying familiar things in a new way. Someone got involved and fell in love with this method, someone gladly returned to shopping centers at the first opportunity. But it’s hard to deny: online shopping has become more of a part of our lives.
Its main plus is that you can make purchases without leaving your home, practically without interruption from other things, which saves time. The total amount is reflected in the basket, and you can figure out what to order from the selected one immediately, and what to leave for later. The missing sizes are quickly found on the Web, and things you don’t like after trying on can be returned: everything is like in a regular store, and even easier.
For those who are conscious about spending and easily control their desires, online shopping is one big plus. But for everyone else – rather a minus. “The ease of shopping on the Internet, when a product can be bought in two clicks, plays on our weaknesses,” says Anastasia Veselko, personal finance expert, blogger, and author of the Girl with Money project. “It’s worth a friend to post a link to a cosmetic brand, and after a couple of minutes we find ourselves on the manufacturer’s website with a basket of creams we don’t need.”
Nothing to do in the evening? Online stores come to the rescue. At first, we go there not to buy something, but just to look, but discounts and bonuses await us. Who wouldn’t want to get two goods for the price of one, or something “in addition”?
“The crossed-out price affects everyone the same,” says Anastasia Veselko. – In some online stores, goods are really cheaper than in ordinary ones. But here, too, a catch can be expected: you come in order to buy a blouse of a certain brand, and leave not only with it, but also with a basket of cheap and unnecessary things.
In pursuit of trends
Newsletters from stores by e-mail also seem harmless at first glance, but this is not so. “When we subscribe to the newsletter of an online store or a brand account on a social network, it begins to seem that new things and purchases are an important part of life, that the declared trends are significant and now we can’t do without them,” explains Anastasia Veselko. – This is because we see beautiful pictures and models in new clothes every day. Social networks create the feeling that everyone has this thing except you, and something needs to be done about it.
It is not a purchase that can get rid of this unpleasant feeling, but an unsubscribe from store mailing lists and accounts that litter our already cluttered information field. And if we want to buy a new trench coat, just go to a few bookmarked pages to get acquainted with the latest fashion trends.
And before paying for the order, it is worth considering as critically as possible all the goods in the basket. “When making purchases in online stores, we immediately see the entire cost of the order, and this is much more convenient than in shopping centers,” says the blogger. – In mega malls, after going through several points, we often mentally round the purchase price from 3300 rubles, for example, to three thousand, and from 2700 to two and a half. And then we are surprised that we spent much more than we expected.
Let the thing lie in the electronic basket, look there later. As a rule, returning to the site after some time, we understand that we do not need this thing at all as it seemed.
Another life hack: no shopping after 18:00. Our ability to self-control weakens in the evening, both self-observation and many studies show. At this time, it is more difficult to resist various temptations: from an extra cake or an unnecessary purchase. “One of my subscribers noticed for herself that online shopping is an evening fun when everything is done and you can reward yourself for a hard day.
And so do many: a regular store at this time would already be closed, but here there is round-the-clock access to thousands of goods. However, it is worth remembering how exhausting the choice from such an abundance of offers. Therefore, in the evening it is better to put the gadget away and take, for example, a good book, ”says the financial expert.
33 pleasures
Alina Galantseva, psychologist
The main part of the profit of any seller is impulsive purchases. Marketers have long noticed that there are significantly more online orders on a gray rainy day. But we must not lose our vigilance if we do not want to lose money.
- We are not required to respond to the bonus. Sometimes, along with the ordered goods, they send us something for free, for testing. It can be a cosmetic sampler, or a promo code, or a few chapters from an expected novelty book. As a child, you are taught to say “thank you” politely and to give something in return if possible, but this applies to close relationships, not sales, remind yourself of this. If we have a strong feeling of embarrassment or a desire to buy a product in gratitude for giving you a sample, these reactions may indicate low self-esteem, which can be raised by working through the issue with a specialist. If the sale has a deadline, and a timer with time is ticking opposite the product, then the hand seems to press “Buy” itself.
- Don’t let yourself be automatic. When you start to notice such tricks and do not give in, mentally praise yourself for your strong will and feel free to place an order with only the right products. Another trick is discounts and bonuses. Try to mentally imagine if you would buy this product at full price. Do you really need this item? If yes, then do not hesitate to buy, and if not, take a short pause in order to make an informed decision. The positive effect of the discount will be when it applies to the goods you really need, for example, a book that you have been looking for for a long time, or a snowsuit for a child that was successfully bought in the summer.
- Try the 33 Pleasures technique: write down on a piece of paper or in phone notes something that can quickly cheer you up and at the same time does not depend on money and others. If someone significant to you advertises a thing, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and as you exhale, think: how true is this desire, and not an attempt to be no worse than others.
Salad instead of eclair
The e-commerce market in 2020 grew by one and a half times, it became possible to buy almost everything online – from cookies to an apartment. “In order for a business to be successful, you need to understand your buyer, and data on how he behaves on the seller’s website, in social networks and in search engines allows you to do this,” says marketing communications consultant, sociologist Ksenia Kasyanova, “that is, everywhere, where the user has consented to data collection.
All this data allows not only to analyze needs, but even to predict and anticipate them. Therefore, the user in online advertising receives offers that are of interest to him, and discounts and gifts, also often targeted, allow sellers to further increase sales.
So controlling finances – physical or electronic – is still a skill that is vital for any buyer. As marketers joke, there is no more dangerous buyer than a husband with a list of products: he does not make impulsive purchases.
The conclusion is not difficult to draw: in order to resist the temptations of online stores, we should determine in advance exactly what we need, and not wander around the sites in search of “something”. In online stores, everything is designed for a quick purchase: the client should not leave empty-handed. But it’s worth asking yourself questions: can we not buy this? What is the best way to spend this money?
“For 15 thousand rubles you can buy not only a pair of blouses and jeans: they can turn into a plane ticket, a trip to the Bolshoi Theater, a trip to a holiday home for the weekend,” Anastasia Veselko reflects. “The exact amount can turn our attention to something cooler that you have long wanted and missed.”
We will make extra purchases in any case. But the challenge is to do it less often and learn to enjoy money more. “Here, as with nutrition, you can’t constantly eat only healthy foods,” the expert says. “But if you pay attention to this, you will still take a salad more often than an eclair.” No wonder Margaret Thatcher said that money should be spent only on two things in life – education and impressions.