Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: It's Tuesday. That means it's Take Control Tuesday. And I have Mansa Moussa on the phone. Manta. We've been on this series of why We Buy. And today we're going to talk about how retailers use psychology to get us to say yes to more.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Yeah. In this why We Buy series, we've been looking at consumer psychology, and that's how retailers use what they know about human behavior to influence our buying decisions.
Now, there's not anything necessarily wrong with that.
Their job is to sell.
[00:00:36] Speaker A: Right.
[00:00:36] Speaker B: Our job to recognize what's happening and have strategies of our own so we can make intentional rather than impulsive buying decisions. Right. So today I want you to think about ordering dinner. You figure out what you want and then it starts.
What size? Make it a combo. Which side?
Want a drink?
Add cheese. How about dessert? And after a while you may be thinking, okay, fine, whatever. Just add it.
There's a name for what may be happening. It's called decision fatigue. The idea is pretty simple. Making one decision after another takes mental effort. It sure does. As those decisions pile up, we get mentally tired.
And when that happens, we may spend less time thinking through each new choice.
Instead of asking, is this really what I want? We start looking at the easiest way to get through a decision.
Make it a combo. Sure. Upgrade for another dollar. Okay.
Add this to the order. Why not?
There may be nothing wrong with any of those choices. The question is, did you actually choose it or did you just get tired of deciding?
Right. And this happens with bigger purchases, too. Yeah. Say you spent about an hour shopping for an appliance. You compared models, prices, and reviews. Finally you say, this is the one.
But then extended warranty delivery, installation all the way. Some of those services may make perfect sense for you. But notice what happened. You made one buying decision and then you were handed four more.
[00:02:32] Speaker A: Right.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: Online shopping does the same thing.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Sure do.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: You finally chose what you want. And here it comes. Frequently bought together. Upgrade for just a little more, Add this and get free shipping.
One more decision than another, and somewhere along the line we can go from choosing to simply accepting what's off.
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: So this is what you do about it. Treat every add on as a new buying decision.
You decided to buy the appliance. That doesn't mean you decided to buy the warranty. You decided what you wanted for dinner. That doesn't mean you decided to make it a combo. Right. Mentally separate the two.
Okay, I made that decision. Now, do I want or need this to? Pay attention to yourself. Be present when you're making these decisions. If you hear yourself saying, I don't care anymore, just pick something that's useful information you may not be choosing anymore. You may be just trying to get finished. So here's our takeaway.
Decision fatigue can turn choosing into accepting. And when that happens, we end up spending more than we intended for buying something we didn't really need. So the next time you're offered one more upgrade, add on or recommendation, ask yourself, am I choosing this because I want it or need it? Or am I just tired of deciding?
And sometimes just asking that question is enough to slow you down and help you choose. Remember, be an intentional buyer, not just a consumer.
[00:04:20] Speaker A: Absolutely. You know what?
I'm so guilty of this and I can feel that fatigue just listening to this.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: I didn't mean to be tiresome, but.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: No, not like that.
[00:04:37] Speaker B: But it's true that once you understand what's happening, now we have the strategies to stop it. But remember, Randy, it's human psychology. Yeah, you're a human being and they know it and they use it to their advantage. It's up to us to be intentional about our buying.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: Absolutely, man. I am now going to tune out every add this and make it sound like Charlie Brown's pen parents. Like the you can get all this information on our website at takecontroltuesday. Com and the whole series will be up ready for you on every digital outlet where you listen to your podcast as well. Mansa, thank you so much.
[00:05:22] Speaker B: Thank you.
