Shopping Online & The Illusion Of Buying Cheap Things
Saving cost while enjoying extra utility is how we always aim to achieve value anytime we're spending, shopping and buying. Sometimes, we never even get to save costs like we think we have, all we tend to do is to get the illusion that we did. For example, paying in installments for a product is a way we tend to think we got a good deal, while in the real sense we didn't.
Paying in bulk seems rather stressful, so many people want to buy a product or service but because they do not have enough money, they're provided with the option of paying in installments while having to pay more than the original price if they pay in installments.
Now, why does it seem like people who pay using this format are getting a really good deal? The reason is that the means of income of different people only allows them to earn while they work, because they need to render a service to get paid, whatever they aim to buy will depend on their marginal propensity to save.
The Psychology Of Marketing
The psychological of marketing is diabolical and this is because it taps Into the weaknesses and lifestyles of people in other to finances exploit them. Providing people the opportunity to pay in installments is never a win-win situation and I'll tell you why it feels like it.
There are products and services that some people would never even consider buying due to their costs, but when it's available for installment purchase, then it creates the possibility that it's within a person's financial capacity. So the style or form of payment to a product or service can enhance the sale of such product.
The main aim of a company or an organization is to make a profit and sell its products. So while it seems like people are getting value by paying installments, the company is winning because they get to sell their products and make more money within a stipulated period rather than spontaneously.
COVID-19: The True Advantage
Companies like Jumia and konga are masters when it comes to creating this illusion and how do they do it? COVID-19 gave rise to online shopping. In the past people, we're keyed into ordering what they cannot physically or remotely buy.
This means that shopping online was only a last resort to some extent, but since the pandemic, people have gotten used to ordering everything, because they're now used to the comfort.
We can say that rich people always aim at using money to attain comfort and this was one of the initial purposes of online shopping.
There's a general perception that comfort should be expensive and the COVID period showed a lot of people the comfort they're missing. Online stores will remain forever grateful to COVID because this was a period when people forgot about frugality due to the inability to move and buy remotely.
The Black Friday Illusion
The concept or idea behind Black Friday is one of such illusions. For example, let's say a product is $500 in real-time stores, an online store might decide to price the product at $600 and tell people they're getting free shipping.
Most of the time, people don't even get to calculate the actual cost of shipping but because they're getting the product shipped to their doorstep, it creates the illusion that they're getting more value.
How about listing a product for almost two times the price, while slashing 45% off and still making about 5% extra profit and also, still making another profit for selling it at the actual price? People like to slot into the idea that they're getting something for lesser the actual amount. Where will the money come from, if this were real weren't these companies going to go out of business?
The Invisible Price Tag
The truth is, for every free or cheap thing we're buying, there's an invisible price consequence that we don't even know about. If you aim to achieve comfort and not value then spending to achieve the latter might come with spending that never achieves value for money.
The truth is, to achieve or attain value for money, then we must see it as a necessity to weigh different options. Sometimes people set out to spend less to get more but at the end of the day, they end up spending "more" to buy "less".
While rich people do not care about cost, but quality and comfort, not everyone can afford this luxury.
Online shopping, advertising, and the whims of marketing expose so many psychological hacks to get people to spend and this is mainly the reason why people plan to save more but never achieve the aim.
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I really love online shopping so much.tho, thing I buy differs tho but I feel it's easier and faster
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I guess everyone loves it, I just highlighted why it might not be so great afterall.
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Do you have issues with them?
I don't mean to be rude but this question points out the fact that you didn't read his post 😩
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I was actually asking a question tho, to what he said and of cus I read it
Right before the pandemic, we had the offline slash sales too. Where companies offers slashes in prices and once a consumer enters he spents more than he budgeted for . Why? He'll definitely see something else he likes and wasn't part of the plan or slashes and buys or he buys more of the slashes without realizing.
For the online sales spreee, we are getting the same thing, but this time, the shipping fees, and the extra charges added by product owners is what we are getting.
All in all, the pandemic brought good business acumen to business owners and I am happy for them.
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Hahaha, the pandemic made many business owners rich, it hastened the need to shop online and took more money out of the pocket of others I guess, like you pointed out too.
The marketing strategy is really diabolical and I think we cannot do without online shopping, it's a necessary evil to some extent, we cannot help but point out the fact that it makes life easy as well as it makes us spend more, it's the life we chose though.
Hahaha.... I am laughing at the diabolical part of this reply 😂😂
Hahaha well it's a principle in advertising. Tactics of marketing can be diabolical, in the way it's tailored to control people.
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I agree though. Wherever the money is, please, let's make it 🥺🙃
Buying things on credit is s very common habit here in SA, Nigeria might only be practicing it now but SA SA way ahead that's why about 80% of South Africans are in depth with another 15% trying to get in depth.
It is a crime against one's innocent self to go that route of buying things on credit and then spend 3 years paying triple times the initial cost.
That thing called black Friday is a scam
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You once told me about how it is in SA. I think if we have such enablements, here in Nigeria, many people would be walking debts and trying to evade the law and authorities. I've bought during black Friday before and sincerely they just added back the money in shipping fee 😃😃😃
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People are blind to this black Friday stuff they even stample on each other to get in shops, they stand in lines as early as possible before the shops open for things they think are cheaper.
Some folks need to be giving a hiding to wisen up!
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These black Friday sellers are wise, it's just that people are not, I see a lot of discussion about it and it's an easy way to trick people to think they're actually paying less meanwhile they're not. These guys makes more money from people trooping into their shops and it's one way traffic from there.
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Transactions online does not make you feel the effect of spending directly unlike using cash
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This is invariably true but then, the illusion inevitability leacest us when our account is empty hahaha
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Thank you there. Appreciate it.
Online shopping is great but I do agree that people can make up whatever price they see fit. We won't really know unless we go out of our way to look up information but I don't think those stores or sellers will go far. It will destroy their reputation as more people learn about it.
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I think it's more useful if we cannot find those listed products on real-time stores. However I do believe that they're thriving because the idea of online shopping is probably the future. I like to think the concept of comfort drives the idea of online shopping.
This is the same as the crypto market scene, I feel you can always take advantage of the downtrend on the market and accumulate more gems with few bucks on a non-custodial wallet like that of https://atomicwallet.io/, with it's user friendly features.
I have never been a fan of payment by installment. Infact I see it as a red flag and the need to take to my heels. Like you rightly said, it is just a beautiful way to rip you off while making you believe they are doing you a favour of having what you want or need and paying at your convenience. You always end up paying more than the man who saved up to pay once.
I love Jumia but I am never a fan of their black Friday because I know it's an illusion so i wait for the craze to be over and then buy on a good day. Their prices aren't so bad cos I have had to compare some of their goods with market prices and considering transportation and other factors, I think it is not such a bad deal.
I think Jumia sells things way cheaper than konga although there are products you'll see on konga, Jumia wouldn't really have them. I've actually used these outlets to shop quite well in the past and I know how they make money taking advantage of people. But we can agree that they provide comfort even if we might not exactly get the quality we want.
Oh yes they provide comfort and also privacy if you know what I mean 😉. I have not shopped on konga and you are right cos I've heard same complaint before.
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