Five Marketing Tricks to Look Out for This Holiday

Oh, holiday shopping season. We know that many dedicated postconsumers simply boycott it. But postconsumerism is about finding your own comfort level on the consumer “enough” scale and doing it with the knowledge of how consumerism and the mass media operate. For many, that means holiday shopping. And we’re great with that as long as you go into it armed with information instead of programmed by the consumer machine. That’s why, today, we’re providing this list of five marketing tricks you should be wary of as holiday shopping season begins.

Trick One: The Online Upsell or Cross-Sell

Those “other users bought” or “you might also like” suggestions when you shop online may seem helpful at the time, but they are carefully, dynamically and often individually (yes, using data the website stored about you) curated to do one thing: get you to either buy more products or to buy a more expensive product. Don’t do it! Your best bet is to try very, very hard to not even look at those recommendations. They are so well selected that it will honestly be hard for you to ignore them once you see them.

Trick Two: Cross-Sells and Upsells Exist in Stores, Too.

While it’s entirely possible (though you have to make a conscious choice to do it) to avoid looking at the cross sells and upsells on websites, it’s not as easy to avoid them in stores. Why? Because they are intentionally placed in areas where you can’t avoid them – namely near check out where you’ll be standing, trapped, in long lines with nothing to do but look at all of the other bins of “great deals” that you should be walking out with. Our best advice to you on this topic? Knowledge is power! Give yourself a pep talk before you head to check out about how much you do not need to buy any of the stuff they push on you as you exit.

Trick Three: Buy One, Get One Free!

Oh, we know. Buy one get one free is tempting. But it’s not as tempting if you know the finances and numbers behind it. While it’s not true that absolutely nothing in life is free (thrills and hugs for example), nothing that you buy ever really has a free component. In some way or another, you’re paying for that free item. It may be because the original item was made with so little regard for human rights or the environment that the price can actually include two units at a profit. It may be because you’re giving up data buying it that may profit the company later. Anything that involves the word “Free” actually has a very heavy price. Don’t go into buying it without being aware of it.

Trick Four: Limited Holiday Quantity

As a caveat, it is possible that there are some things that truly are made in a limited quantity. Those things, by the way, are intentionally created with short inventory so that they are assured of selling out and you are assured that you will pay top dollar for them. Think of the “big popular toy” that happens each season if you want an example of this. But more often than not, there is no limited quantity and everything that you see on sale before the holidays will also be on sale after the holidays. Either way, the question is “Do you want your retail decisions to be dictated by falsely inflated or falsely created inventory numbers?” Inventory control is a common and effective marketing mechanism. Be in control of whether you’re influenced by it or not.

Trick Five: Enlisting Your Children!

Long ago, marketers learned that the best way to get an adult to spend money is to enlist their child in the army. It’s how Ronald McDonald was born. And we understand the fine line between wanting to be a responsible consumer who is a role model to your kids and wanting to give your children the world. It’s a challenging space to be in. We’re certainly not suggesting that you tell your kids “no” to anything they may ask for that has a consumer, retail or media machine slant. We’re also gently advising that not every item on their wish list needs to be a “yes.” Remember, you want to teach them that more isn’t always better and that “stuff” only means so much.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to tricks and tools that marketers will use to get you to buy more and more and more this holiday season. The key is to be vigilant and be informed. That said, these five are the most common and to a certain degree the most effective. Being aware of them can give you power over the consumer machine.

Did we miss a holiday marketing trick that drives you crazy? We’d like to hear about it. Tell us on the social media channels below.