"Soft-hearted" consumption! Why are we easily sold?

Being a qualified salesperson is definitely a technical job. From the eloquent sales talk to grasping the psychology of customers like us who just want to shop. Behind every successful salesperson is a little psychological power.

Of course, these "techniques" alone are far from enough. When we focus too much on the ability of the salesperson, it is easy to overlook an extremely critical detail, that is, ourselves. Why do we always tend to be "soft-hearted" when shopping and can't help but buy, buy, buy? The answer is likely closely related to our characteristics.

Where does the characteristic of “soft-hearted” consumption come from?

First, social identity characteristics

A restaurant is packed with diners, and there is a long line outside. Your first reaction is definitely curiosity, and you will have an inexplicable liking for this restaurant, and subconsciously form the concept that "there are so many people here, so the food must be delicious." This is the result of analyzing information through social identity, also known as the herd mentality.

The brain is lazy. In order to save the mental resources consumed when evaluating an environment, people will unconsciously refer to others in their lives to plan their own behavior and evaluation methods to avoid inconsistency with the group. This is especially true for consumers, because we all want to make the most correct choice and are unwilling to take the risks of wrong choices. Therefore, a fixed concept is formed: "If you are the same as others, you are right. And even if you are wrong, they will take the blame for me."

This "follow the crowd" way of thinking gives us great confidence and guidance. Psychologists have found in long-term follow-up studies that only 5% of people in a group need to behave in the same way to trigger herd mentality. A study of 180 people from the University of Tehran showed that herd mentality has a significant impact on decision-making, especially in terms of economic decisions and impulsive consumption.

The sales staff grasped the characteristic of customers to "follow the crowd" and used various means, such as promotional activities, performances, posters, etc., to attract customers' attention, so that customers can stop to watch or even come forward to talk, thus forming a temporary group in the mobile shopping mall or street. Then, we only need to control 5% of the people in the group to stimulate our social identity and complete the first step of sales work.

Second, profit feedback characteristics

When most people suddenly encounter or get something beneficial to themselves, they will unconsciously think about the question "Why did such a good thing happen to me?" Sometimes they may even feel anxious. This wonderful mentality is called the human feedback tendency. Whether it is psychological internal benefits or material external benefits, when we get benefits, we will have a corresponding feedback feeling. This psychological tendency acts on our brain at the subconscious level, so it often manifests itself as an uncontrollable impulse or guilt.

Many businesses are well aware of this, and they will set up comfortable rest areas inside or outside the store, or put some candies and snacks at the front desk. Successful salespeople will be particularly enthusiastic, greet you, smile, and ask you about your needs in a friendly manner, making you feel respected and valued, which is a psychological benefit. Common on-site trials and discounts are material benefits. Don't ignore these subtle courtesies and small bargains, they will inspire our return psychology, which will make you more easily persuaded by the salesperson to buy the product in the future.

Third, the characteristic of happiness is to get

Children love newly bought toys the most, and adults have the same feelings for new clothes, new cars, and new houses. This is not only because we like new things and dislike old things, but also because the sense of possession when we first own something is much more exciting than the happiness that is slowly built up through hard work in daily life. It is not difficult to imagine that we have this characteristic of happiness when we get it since childhood, so we naturally develop the habit of getting happiness through purchases.

A 2014 study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that buying is a coping response that is associated with stress and depression, and that the dopamine levels secreted in the brain when buying new products are higher than some common pleasure stimulations in daily life, such as completing a task or winning a game. In addition, it can provide our brain with a short-term rest, disperse stress, and regulate negative emotions. Therefore, when our bodies and brains have become accustomed to this kind of immediate pleasure stimulation, it is easy for us to be easily influenced by the salesperson's suggestion because of the potential impulse to seek pleasure.

Conclusion

In fact, shopping itself has many benefits for us. Rational shopping has been proven to have healing effects in many studies. By rewarding yourself periodically, you can effectively relieve the accumulated stress, depression and anxiety in your life. Buying yourself a nice dress, a new book, rewarding yourself with a cup of coffee, or even setting Thursday as a big meal day are all good consumption choices. Most importantly, the happiness brought by this consumption choice comes from our own needs and desires, not from the inertia of "soft-hearted" consumption or the sales tricks of merchants and salesmen.

References:

【1】Chamani, R., Bagherian, F., & shokri, O. (2019). The Effect of Social Conformity on Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty among University Students. Social Psychology Research, 8(32), 1-16.

【2】Scott I. Rick, Beatriz Pereira, Katherine A. Burson.(2014). The benefits of retail therapy: Making purchase decisions reduces residual sadness,
Journal of Consumer Psychology, Volume 24, Issue 3, Pages 373-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2013.12.004.