As said Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, we are the fully irrational community. Meaning that we do not always make optimal decisions that provide us with the greatest benefit and satisfaction as it should be in an ideal world. People are moved by their emotions and external factors. We are so impulsed and make often bad decisions.
What motivates customers? What influences? And how it can be used to make more sales? These questions are always wondered about retailers. So, let’s go deeper into the psychology tricks behind e-commerce.
Social proof
People are social creatures. And one of the leading factors that impact on the decision to purchase or not is the friend’s testimonials. If somebody buys this product, it is much more chances that you purchase the same item. Therefore, it is import to show social proof on your site like:
- Recommendations
- Reviews
- Ratings
- Social media links.
For example, Amazon provides users with two ratings:
- Customer reviews
- Best sellers rank.
Example: Amazon
Use the anticipation
What makes the product great and drives the sales on the first day? Quality? Price? Unique benefits? Partly, yes. But the crucial key is pre-sale marketing, especially a PR campaign that find ways to hold customer’s interest. Remember how Apple makes their great product’s presentations? And what they do before? This is not bragging but simple psychology.
When you create the feeling of anticipation in your customers when they are waiting for something incredible in the future, you make them think that your product is much more necessary than it really is. They believe that something big, exciting and extraordinary are behind the brand.
Outline the scarcity
Although, it is one of the oldest tricks it still does not become outdated. When you emphasize the product’s scarcity, people subconsciously feel that your product is really wanted and popular. This trick is closely related to the issue of social proof. You can highlight scarcity in two ways:
- Number of available items
- Limit in time.
Here is an example of how it is realized in the Wolf&Badger shop.
Example: Wolf&Badger
Use special words
These words are named as ‘ultimate terms’. There is a theory that some words carry powerful persuasive weight, they trigger the right thoughts and emotions. Therefore, people are more likely to buy something. Usually, such words are referred to this group:
- Proven (shows safety and quality)
- New (outline that your product is new and innovative)
- You (creating rapport through a direct address)
- Lose (can be used to set up undesirable situations that your product will help a customer to avoid).
You can bravely use these words in the titles and headlines or in the product descriptions.
Know about utility blindness
In the study titled “Utility Blindness: Why do we fall for deals?” researchers find that people tend to purchase bundle deals than individually sold products even if the price is not changed. For example, you can sell computers valued at $1000 and an additional $50 mouse. If you form these two products in one $1050 package, you can get more sales moving.
Customers want to make fewer decisions, therefore, this psychological effect is so popular.
So, there are several easy ways to make your e-commerce business more successful. Use them at any time.