Tricks Online Retailers Use

It can be convenient and often less expensive to shop online. But online retailers have become very savvy in separating you from your money. It is good to know what tricks these internet stores use to hook you and then to get you to spend as much as possible. Knowing these tricks can save you money.

Becoming your default.
Online retailers know that it is easy for you to purchase if they offer to store your credit card number, offer a simplified mobile app, or offer a membership for cheaper or faster shipping. This website then becomes the first, and most often only, place you look. While there is no problem with you starting your search at a familiar site, be sure to comparison shop too.

Emailing you with special deals.
If you sign up for updates from an online retailer, you can be sure that you will receive emails that tout sales and special deals only email recipients can access. But often these sales are either offered to everyone who visits the site or are actually not real sales at all. Cutting the price of an item by a few cents and then calling it a sale does not save you money. Again, comparison shopping before purchasing is the best approach.

The power of peer pressure.
Most people would agree that product reviews offered by other purchasers of an item are helpful. Marketers know that the more people leave positive reviews, the more sales that product will have. Sites that feature reviews are useful only if you use the reviews to understand the product more, rather than feeling like you need to jump on the bandwagon.

Creative use of technology.
Online retailers use a variety of techniques to get you to spend more money. They can range from using certain colors on the website, to utilizing arrows, to special wording. There are also benefits for retailers to use online chat sessions with customer service representatives, product videos, and one-click buying. Pages that load quickly reduce the amount of time you have to consider your purchase, and mobile apps make it easy to buy on the go, when you are less likely to deliberate over your choices.

Use a ticking clock.
Many websites offer very short deal windows to compel you to make a purchase quickly. Daily deal sites like Groupon or Living Social typically feature their offers for only one day. Ticket and travel websites track available seats, showing you how many are left. If they are selling out quickly, this information can cause you to make a snap purchase. If you can, take a short time-out from your purchasing decision before snapping up anything that has a short deadline.