If you are one of the millions of shoppers that enter
Target (or
Wal Mart,
Dollar General, etc.) for milk and trash bags and leave $75-$100 later, you are a victim of "impulse" marketing. In other words, lots of people get paid to think about where to put things and how to arrange the store (and any number of other specific tactics) so that you will buy things you didn't come for to start with! More time, energy and money that most of us can imagine is spent attempting to determine and analyze who buys what, when, where and why. During these difficult economic days, any money you can save will make a difference in your cash flow. These reminders will help you check your "impulses" whenever and wherever you shop.
1. Analyze yourself as a customer.
- Think about how you feel before, during and after a purchase. Are you tired, hungry, mad, sad? Do those things make you want to buy certain things or NOT buy certain things?
- What attracts your attention as you are walking through a store? Why?
- What types of products appeal to you? Why?
- Are you loyal to a specific brand and/or store no matter what? What, if anything, would make you change what and where you buy?
- Who would target you as a customer? Why? How?
All of these are the things that manufacturers, marketers and store owners want to know about you. Truth be told, they already know a lot of this information based on your buying patterns! If you spend a little time learning these things about yourself, you will be able to identify and recognize your shopping triggers. Once you do, you won't be as susceptible to the "impulse" tactics that greet you at the front door of every store you go in to.
2. Shop deliberately. One of the worst habits of many shoppers is shopping without a purpose. Maybe you are killing time between meetings. Perhaps you shop with a friend just to spend some time together. Possibly, you wander around the mall just to "get out of the house". Shopping aimlessly is dangerous from an impulse purchasing perspective! When you shop for no reason, you are almost certain to buy things you don't need (or even really want).
- Use a shopping list. This is very helpful for groceries, household supplies and personal items but it can also work for any shopping trip. If you are shopping for clothes, jot down a list of the things that you need/want. If you run across those in your shopping, fine. If not, use your list as a reason NOT to buy.
- Eliminate distractions. Talking on your phone and/or having kids with you are the kind of distractions that store managers LOVE. While you are paying attention to those things, you are not paying close attention to the price tags and/or the number of things you are throwing in your basket. When you are shopping, stay focused on that and you will almost always spend less.
- Keep a budget in mind. Glance at your bank account balance before you leave home so you can have some perspective in mind. Also, keep a tally in your head as you add items to your basket so you'll have some frame of reference when you check out. This will also help you catch mistakes at the register!
- Allow plenty of time. When you are in a hurry (i.e. buying a gift on your way to the party), you will be more likely to buy the 1st thing you see AND the $3.00 gift bag + $2.00 bow + $4.00 card to go with it.
- Limit the possibilities. If you need something you can find at the corner market or drugstore, don't go to the mall to get it. Having a bigger place with more things to buy is an impulse that's hard to resist.
3. Recognize marketing tactics and lures. Certainly, you don't have to go back to school and get a degree in marketing but a little knowledge in this area could go a long way.
- Read what you can about the rationale behind store layouts and designs.
- Watch how display locations change in a store to affect exposure.
- Only use shopping carts and baskets when you really need them. A shopping cart with plenty of room is a great invitation to buy something "since I'm already here".
- Be careful of the "it's only little stuff" and/or the "I'm getting a deal" mentalities. Little deals add up in a big hurry!
4. Buy with the long term in mind.
- Plan ahead so that you know what you need before you run out.
- Research quality in order to reduce waste. In other words, don't think of everything as being "cheap and disposable". Look for things that may cost more on the front but will last longer.
- Compare prices. The internet has become an invaluable tool for finding the best, most competitive prices on just about everything. Use this capability to save as much as you can while still getting exactly what you want.
- Pay with cash instead of credit. Being able to have something immediately will cost you unless you can pay for it now. If you can control the impulse to buy on credit, you will save thousands of dollars in the long run.
5. Get in and get out! For store managers and owners, exposure in the key. The longer you are in the store, the more likely you are to buy something (and something else, and then something else). Always, the best thing for your bank account is to get what you need and spend as little time "shopping" as possible.
- Only go where you need to within the store. Once you know how the store is laid out, think about your shortest route to the aisle/department you need to go to and use it.
- Busy yourself in the checkout line. The reason all the candy, batteries and magazines are right by the register is so you have to stand there and look at them while you are waiting. This is a great time to clean out your purse/wallet or play a game on your cell phone or organize your coupons! Just do something so you won't be drawn in by the "impulse items" (that's really what they are called) at the front registers.
- Send someone else. If you get drawn in by all the bright colors and fun things on every aisle, make a list and send someone else in the family that has better "tunnel vision" than you do.
- Shop online. Statistically, you are much more likely to buy something you touch than something you don't. With that in mind, there may be times when shopping online will save you money. More and more, groceries are available online. Even with the shipping/delivery fees, you may find that having specific things brought to you will yield more of what you need and less of what you bought because you were standing in front of it!
