How to beat the retail tricks of the trade and save money

Shops do all they can to lure you inside and persuade you to spend more of your money, often on things you never knew you wanted. They promise big discounts and savings in what seems like an endless period of sales.

But armed with some knowledge of the retail tricks of the trade you can – hopefully – avoid some of that unnecessary spending and stick within your budget. You might even be able to work the system to your advantage and make savings on the things you really want.

Dr Jason Pallant, a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Swinburne University, said retailers use a range of tactics to entice you into their shops.

“Overall many of the tactics retailers employ aim to circumvent our slow-thinking rational parts of our brain and appeal to our emotional decision making, which is more likely to make snap decisions or impulse buys,” he told Canstar.

“Things like ‘limited time offers’, ‘special buys’, ‘two for one deals’ – all of these are about trying to spark an emotional response.”

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Retailers want you back in the shops

COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns have seen many people turn to online shopping for their retail therapy. As and when those restrictions ease, Dr Pallant said retailers will be keen to encourage people back to the bricks and mortar shops in towns and cities.

“So a lot goes into thinking about how to get customers to leave their home and go shopping, then go to a specific retailer’s shop compared to another one,” he said.

“A lot of thought goes into the design of stores, window displays, signage, colours, lights and so on to try to attract that attention. Retailers spend a lot of time, effort and money, testing different store designs and layouts for that purpose.”

They tap into the expert skills and advice of professional retail designers, visual merchandisers, window dressers and store planners (yes, these are paid professions), plus the wealth of academic and market research on what works and what doesn’t.

So let’s take a close look at some of the tactics and see if you can then avoid getting caught by the retail tricks of the trade.

1. Don’t get caught by the clever shop window display

The front window is the first point of contact you have with a shop so that’s where retailers usually focus much of their attention.

“Creating a visually appealing storefront to draw customers in is crucial,” said Dr Pallant.

It’s here where you’ll see things displayed such as the latest products, special offers, limited stock, exclusive products, seasonal specials and bargains. The aim is to get you to go into the store so you shop for more.

The Queensland Government’s Business Queensland website has some handy hints for retailers considering their window display. It says displays should be seasonal and topical, changed on a regular basis and designed to make you want to enter the shop.

“Make sure products in your display are easy to find inside the store but not necessarily at the front, where your customers will need to look no further,” it adds.

The Western Australian Government’s Small Business Development Corporation reminds retailers they have just seconds to catch the eye of potential shoppers as they pass a window display, so its blunt advice is “eye level is buy level”.

“Work out where eye level is when looking into your shop window from the outside and display your best or newest products there,” it adds.

So remember, if something in a shop window catches your attention, then think carefully about whether it’s something you really want, or if you’ve just been captured by the clever display.

2. Don’t get caught in the shop layout maze

Once you step inside a shop, you enter what is commonly referred to as the decompression zone. The first few metres inside is usually an open space that gives you a chance to examine the store to see what’s available.

Retailers are advised against placing any products on display in this decompression zone as you’re not likely to notice them, according to retail experts including consultant Paco Underhill, author of the best-selling book, Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping.

“By the time the person is starting to engage with the physical environment, some of the stuff you’ve put by the door is blown past,” he is often quoted as saying.

Retailers want you to step further inside the shop. When you do, you’ll likely be channelled through the store by a clever design layout.

The aim is to make you pass things you didn’t know you wanted, hoping you’ll stop and take a look and maybe even buy some of these items, as you hunt for the things you do want.

Marketer guru Alexis Damen, writing in the retail blog Shopify, lists the pros and cons of 10 different layouts you may encounter, from a simple grid design through to things such as angular, loop, geometric and herringbone design.

3. Don’t get caught by the impulse buy attractions

Business Queensland has advice on how retailers can direct you through a store towards certain products, such as placing high-demand items at the back to draw you in. Impulse items should be placed near the counter and in high-traffic areas.

The government service advises retailers to set up “strike zones” in stores – places used to make a product’s first-impression on you.

“Place widely appealing, affordable products here so customers don’t get turned off by high prices,” it adds.

Retailers should place their most profitable items at eye level, their popular or targeted products between eye level and knee level, and products for children at their eye level.

Other tricks retailers are advised to use include aisle space that’s just narrow enough to slow you down so you look at what’s available, but wide enough to feel comfortable and accessible, especially if you have a pram or wheelchair. Too wide an aisle though and you might just rush through.

Where’s the cash register or sales counter? Business Queensland says it shouldn’t be visible as you first enter a store as it’s a reminder you’ll likely be spending your hard-earned money.

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4. Don’t get caught in the supermarket aisles

Dr Pallant said supermarkets are the masters of design with essential items usually at the back, then clever tactics to get you to travel down all the aisles (be honest, how often do you skip a supermarket aisle?).

“For example, in most supermarkets the ingredients for cake baking are in the middle of an aisle. The idea is to draw consumers in and get them feeling good by thinking about cake and the emotional events that product is connected to,” he said.

If your intention when entering any shop is just to browse and look around, that’s fine, just go with the flow and try to notice how the store is guiding you, how you are being channelled past items.

But if you’re shopping for something specific, ask a staff member for directions. That way you can head straight to the thing you want.

5. Don’t get caught by ‘misleading’ sale and discount offers

It often seems like some shops are selling items at a discounted sale price all the time, no matter what time of year.

Unfortunately, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says under Australian Consumer Law there is no limit on how long a shop can advertise an item at a discounted sale price.

But a spokesperson told Canstar that shops offering a sale or discounted price for an extended or continuous period of time, so that discounted price effectively becomes the new selling price, may be considered as “misleading or deceptive” to still call it a sale or discounted price.

The same goes for other retail tricks on comparison pricing, including listing the current price along with a “before” or “was” or a strikethrough price, when the product was never actually sold at that price.

The watchdog’s advice is to shop around to get a better idea on what price a product normally sells for and how that compares with any discount or sale price. If you feel you’re being misled, raise it with the retailer or contact the ACCC (ph 1300 302 502, 9am to 5pm AEST).

When it comes to pricing, retailers have plenty of tricks to make you think you’re getting a good deal.

Those big yellow signs at JB-HiFi and orange signs at Bunnings are all hand-drawn to make you think it’s the latest offer, and those prices listed are designed to make you think you’re getting a bargain.

Dr Pallant said we might be wise enough to know that $19.99 is really $20, but some retailers have other pricing tricks.

“Using odd pricing is now more effective, for example, making it $19.76,” he told Canstar. “In these cases consumers can assume that is the true ‘correct’ price and not just a marketing trick.”

6. Don’t get caught by the free extra attractions

It’s not only the size, shape and colour of pricing and advertising banners that matter to retailers, or the clever product placement and design layout. Retailers want you to have a good experience when you’re inside their shop.

Here you can touch things, test things, play with display-only items, try things on for size. You may even be able to taste a sample or smell a fragrance. All the things you can’t do online.

Dr Pallant was a judge on a recent Retailer Awards panel that saw the sports megastore Rebel win the 2021 Customer Experience of the Year.

“Rebel are reformatting many of their stores to shift away from just products on racks to what we call ‘experiential retailing’,” he said.

“For example, they have a soccer pitch in some stores, basketball courts in others. These areas are free to use, and are about getting customers to trial products and experience them.

“They also become a highly effective visual cue as consumers walk past and see people playing basketball in a store. It draws people in, and may ultimately encourage them to make purchases.”

7. Don’t go shopping without a list

So given all these tricks of the trade available to retailers, what else does Dr Pallant recommend to avoid getting trapped into unplanned spending?

“The key for savvy shoppers is to try to acknowledge when you’re making a rational, thought-out decision, and when your emotional brain has taken over,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not okay to make an emotional choice sometimes.”

His top tip is to make a list of the things you want before you go shopping, particularly for any big decisions. Make a note of anything important you want or need from a product. When you’re done shopping, re-check that list.

“Did you get what you originally intended? If not, is that because you genuinely found something better, or has your emotional brain taken over?”

Cover image source: hxdbzxy/Shutterstock.com