- Walmart is the biggest retailer in America, with over 5,000 stores in the US and over $500 billion in revenue.
- The superstore is known for great bargains, but it also uses sneaky tactics to get you to spend more money than you initially intended.
- From "rollback" items to its "everyday low prices," here are some ways Walmart can convince customers to buy more.
With over 5,000 stores in the US and over $500 billion in revenue, Walmart is officially the biggest retailer in America. If you're going into Walmart, you're on a treasure hunt to find the best bargains out there. And while you're busy finding good deals, you may not realize that Walmart uses sneaky tactics to make you spend more money than you were initially intending.
Once you enter Walmart, you're greeted with big shopping carts, mentally preparing you to fill it all up with things. And then, you're bombarded with huge signs with price tags. This might be obvious, but these big signs can be spotted very easily and people are more likely to gravitate towards them. But something that may not be so obvious is this. The actual price tags follow the good old psychology marketing strategy of odd-even pricing. Prices like $4.93 and $6.84 are just below whole numbers like $5 and $7, making the prices seem like a bargain. Since we're trained to read left to right, when we see $4.93, most would think it's $4 as opposed to $5.
While you're roaming through the aisles of Walmart, you'll also spot their Rollback prices. This is how Walmart advertises a lower price on an item. But a Rollback item is not quite a clearance or a sale item. It's an item that has been lowered in price for other reasons, like overstock, for example. Rollback prices only last for 90 days so when customers see that tag, they may be more likely to purchase the item because it's a little cheaper than it was before and you don't know how long until it'll Rollback to the original price.
You'll also see the words "Everyday Low Price" plastered everywhere, constantly reminding your subconscious that you're getting low prices at Walmart. We spent almost two hours at this Walmart and saw probably over 100 of these signs. You might see something you weren't intending on buying, like chocolate, for example, and buy it anyway because, as the signs constantly remind you, it probably costs less here than at your local store.
And that's another thing. It feels like Walmart has everything. Fishing rods, bicycles, cleaning supplies, sporting goods, clothing, food and beverages. You name it, Walmart has a wide range for you to chose from so you're bound to find something you'll buy. Not only does Walmart tend to have a wide selection of a particular product, but their giant layouts also make it possible to have everything you need related to a particular product. Let's say you're going to Walmart to get a tent for camping. You'll likely stumble across something else in that section that you might have forgotten about or think you might need, like a lantern or impulse buys like an extra sleeping bag.
We also can't forget about the seasonal items Walmart offers. It's January, so you know Walmart is going be stocked up with Valentine's Day goods for you to buy, reminding you the holiday is coming up and that you might as well take care of it while you're there. Just look at all these items. Heart-shaped trays, cute paper cups, wine glasses with cheesy phrases. There are just so many items for Valentine's Day that you didn't even know existed.
And because Walmart is more of a one-stop shop, people have this mentality to stock up on bargains in one trip, spending hours roaming through the aisles. The music they play is partially to blame. Ever notice the type of music that's playing? It's usually calm, soothing, and slow or sometimes, top hits from the radio. Either way, the music they play is designed to make you spend more time in the store and hopefully spend more money, too.
But even if you are aware of all these sneaky tactics, you may still end up buying more than you intended to because you just can't beat those everyday low prices.