Market researchers conducted a study on online purchasing habits. After numerous trials, they concluded that purchasers and non-purchasers on almost every website showed the same behavior pattern: the customers who purchased something spent considerably less time on the webpage than those who didn’t buy anything. This kind of aligns with what we concluded, right? The more we think about buying something, the more logic we slowly inject into the decision, and the less likely it is that we’ll actually end up buying the product.
The online purchase-related study discovered that the customers who purchased were not so thorough in reading about the product they were about to buy. They didn’t scroll down to the details and were less distracted by the information shared about the product. Those browsers who took the time to read the product description, specification, reviews, and other details were less likely to purchase.
To prove their observations, the researchers ran an A/B test comparing an e-commerce page with detailed information, and another one that looked the same, but with the details hidden behind tabs. The result proved their assumptions: the website which had less information sold more products than the one with an abundance of data.
The researchers concluded that placing too much information next to the product distracted the customer from the desired purpose: buying. They use their cognitive resources on reading and scaling based on what they read. People are genuinely curious, so if there are additional product details, they will not allow themselves to miss them.
If you feel you have a bad shopping urge that would hurt your budget, do the opposite of what marketers want you to do: read the details. Read everything about the product, including specifications and reviews. Every little detail. Compare them with other, similar products and think about pros and cons. You’ll notice that somewhere in the middle of this analysis paralysis, you lost your appetite for binge-shopping. Allow your rational mind to catch up with your emotional mind. The exposure to reading other information than the product’s price tag will automatically trigger rational processing in you. This is good. With the rational system resurrected, emotional gut shopping gets more complicated.
If you must buy, take your time and find the best option-especially for large expenses. Don’t fall for the first car dealership’s offer. Even if you have a very clear vision of what you want to buy, conduct a little research and find the best price on the market.
Don’t let online ads appeal to your intuitive system. You now know that abundant information distracts you from purchasing. If you know that and I know it, it’s sure that marketers know it too. They have improved their advertising mechanisms. They try to push your impulse- buy button by triggering your intuitive and emotional response. They try to trick feelings out of you and obscure the actual usefulness of their product.
Remind yourself that online (or regular) sellers do not want you to be in a rational mode when you enter the store. Advertisements are made to stoke your emotional decision-making side and nudge you to buy.
When you can’t say no to a “50%-off deal,” remember what I just said and think as an anti-advertiser. Look for the weaknesses in the advertising system. Start by positioning yourself as an aware and mindful consumer and research the product, even if it takes a few scrolls and clicks to find the details. Read all the information available about your product.
Caution if you can’t find any details about the item you wish to buy, be careful. Trustworthy stores have all the information you need to know about the product, even if it’s hidden. Those stores which offer no explanation and description are more likely fishy. At the very least, make an extra Google search about the store in question to make sure you aren’t paying for nothing. Reddit is your friend here.
Key takeaways:
- Logical and rational responses are much harder to make, and therefore many people automatically rely on their intuitive gut answers.
- The catchiest marketing strategies state that their product will offer a quick and easy solution to your pain.
- Intuition is the result of emotional learning. Our brain memorizes the emotional reactions we had to certain experiences. When we have the same experience again, we attach the stored emotion to it.
- When we get something, we almost feel obliged to pay back what we received.
- The Social Proof principle is predicated on our tendency to trust what’s popular, or endorsed by our fellow humans, than those things which are not.
