Marketing Psychology and Consumer Behaviour
Have you ever grabbed a pair of t-shirts from the departmental store when actually you intended to buy only one, but there was an offer on a particular brand that said Buy One Get One FREE?
Do you feel, you have been tricked in buying extra or feel you have been treated with extra value for you penny spent?
Well it’s the Human Nature to perceive happiness in getting extra, at Zero Cost or as it we term it as FREE!!
Let’s explore this with a small experiment. There is an offer on Cadbury chocolates at the departmental store, you have to choose between a Cadbury Silk offer price Rs. 40 and the Cadbury 5 star offered at Buy 2 Get One Free for Rs. 20, what would you choose?
Well isn’t it better to get 3 chocolates at only Rs. 20, rather than investing in a single chocolate bar at Rs. 40, pretty much natural right. You have been tricked My Friend!!. Now that’s interesting right. If you analyze the two offers on chocolates do a reasonable cost-benefit analysis, you can easily find out that the Cadbury Silk bar is priced at Rs. 70 and here it is offered at discounted price Rs. 40 so the total benefit you get is Rs. 30, but the Cadbury 5 star cost Rs. 10 each so on Buy 2 Get One Free the actual benefit you get is on Rs. 10. Even if 5 star is offered free at zero cost and the Silk chocolate is offered at Rs. 20, the result will be the same.
The above experiment is a tried and tested on several occasions with different products at different price ranges but the overall result is always the same. What is the thing about FREE that so enticing for us?
We always make our decision on weighing the pros and cons of our action, but as soon as we get something FREE, we forget about the cons and the impact it would have on our selves or are loved ones. It gives us such an emotional surge that we perceive what is being offered as immensely more valuable than it really is. It is because we humans have an intrinsic fear of losing something in the bargain, thus always we choose to buy something which is cheaper as it will have a lesser risk factor and lesser chances of losing and when offered FREE, we attach no loses to it and thus we feel it’s a safer option to try out.
This applies to our digital world as well, let’s take an example of say Amazon or Flipkart which offers Free Delivery on minimum purchase bill of Rs. 600. Most frequently you would find yourselves spending hours being hooked up on them and at times ordering things extra or completely useless things just to get that free delivery in the bargain. But all this hassle is it really worth your Time and Money? Is it really providing you the value for each and every penny spent?
Coke Zero
Is Coke Zero really mean zero calories, zero fat and zero carbohydrates? Well the answer to this question is probably a Yes, but the artificial sweeteners used in the drink are they really healthy enough for our body? Yet again we are hand-cuffed by Zero, but this time none other than our most trusted Coke.
Well make a wise-decision next time!!
Marketing Psychology and Consumer Behaviour
Murtaza Choolawala
Geologist, Marketer
Hi, I am Murtaza, an enthusiastic researcher. Always curious to learn new things and to connect with people. Tech and Marketing are my obsession, and Research and Analysis are my Passion.
Marketing Psych 