Shopping With Luxury "Bargain Hunters"

　　 Luxury goods It is impossible to resist the temptation pricing strategy to protect the market from department stores to all kinds of "special stores", from coupons to supermarkets, large scale buying activities, from the global "factory discount" to the honorable "membership system". The widespread use of these marketing ideas is hard for consumers to cover their wallets. But there is still a way to be a successful "bargain hunter".

The book "discount", written by American writer Mark Elwood, carefully analyzed all kinds of discounts, which was commented by the New York post. "We will release the animal instincts that are dormant deep inside for the attractive discount price, but many people still don't know how to win in this game and continue to fall into the" big sale "scam. Shopper expert Mr. Mark Elwood's magic spell is: never buy anything at full price. His various tips apply to both physical stores and online shopping.

Elwood himself is modest. He said: "no country can understand anything more than the Chinese people about bargaining." So, do you really understand the tricks he said, as Chinese? Can you control yourself again next time when you are faced with the temptation of discount?

Brain mechanism

Dopamine will respond to discounts.

The striatum of the human brain is always in charge of the most basic human life behaviors, such as sex, diet and survival instinct. It is one of the most vulnerable brain regions affected by dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, like e-mail, which directives in different regions of the brain. Many mollusks, insects and fish have brains.

Scientists have long believed that dopamine can be fun. But just 20 years ago, the scientific community discovered that the effect of this chemical on the brain is far beyond the scope of cognition, and its function is much more complicated.

Professor Schultz, who led the scientific research at University of Cambridge in England, did an experiment on monkeys: light a lamp, and after a few seconds, spray a few drops of apple juice into the monkey's mouth. During the experiment, Schultz discovered that once the monkeys are familiar with the experimental process, the peak of dopamine in the brain will appear in the light, not when they taste the juice. In other words, "anticipation" is more pleasant to monkeys than "tasting the sweetness".

After repeated experiments, Schultz was also surprised to find that the best way to increase the level of dopamine secretion in monkeys' brains is to feed them juice without lights and let them taste "unexpected sweetness".

The idea that we can get a bargain without much effort will have a similar effect on our brain, which will lead to the continuous secretion of dopamine.

At this point, our brain will also start a "halting mechanism". The essence of this "halting mechanism" is actually a chemical war erupting in the three brain regions of our brain. They are the nucleus accumbens, the insula and the dorsolateral cortex of the prefrontal cortex. Once dopamine is overstimulated, the nucleus accumbens, insula and the dorsolateral cortex of the prefrontal cortex will work together to decide whether or not to respond to dopamine induced pleasure.

The nucleus accumbens and insula are part of the striatum, hidden in the center of the brain. These functional areas respond very fast, and can affect the "sixth senses" and intuition in time. These two brain regions have their own characteristics: the nucleus accumbens, like young people, likes to be happy and easy to be satisfied; while the insula is like an old maid, it is very easy to feel disgusted with things; the dorsolateral cortex of the prefrontal cortex is responsible for weighing the pros and cons, and has unique features in short-term memory, late gratification and calm emotions.

Researchers found that the brain response has its own order: when a Harry Porter fan sees a beloved book in a shopping mall, the brain reaction immediately enters the first stage: the nucleus accumbens becomes excited; then the price comes to the eye, and the insula region begins to move. The main function of the area is to suppress desire. But once the price is found to be cheaper than expected, the blood will flow into the dorsolateral cortex of the prefrontal cortex.

Strangely enough, if too much blood flows to the insula, it will make the brain think "this deal is not cost-effective", so that consumers can make a decision to abandon the purchase. However, if blood flows to any of the two other regions, volunteers will quickly start. This shows that the absolute price of goods is not a consideration factor, and brain activities are important.

In addition, DNA is also an important factor affecting people's handling of prices. In normal brain, excessive dopamine is neutralized by an enzyme called COMT. However, one out of every four people will have less COMT than normal people due to genetic variation. In these people's brains, dopamine takes longer time, resulting in excels in searching for bargain items than in ordinary people.

Stress also affects the judgement of the dorsolateral cortex of the prefrontal cortex. Businesses will use various means to put pressure on consumers. The more difficult we are, the harder we are to control ourselves. For example, fighting against the same "limited" special item with hundreds of thousands of brave customers, this factor makes the discount more irresistible.

　　 Discount Secrets

Pricing is strategically, and some numbers make you irresistible.

Since the advent of the bookkeeping method in the middle ages, traders have been using the "cost plus profit" pricing method. But by 1980s, the new pricing model had completely abandoned the original idea. Some people invented the value pricing method based on a "transaction effect", that is, not starting from the cost of production, but according to the customers' needs, considering how much money they would like to pay for a product. Pricing has become a game.

Pricing consultants summed up five pricing strategies, which are now being used by shopping malls and shopping malls in the United States every day.

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　　 They are:

Pricing by reference point principle. In the summer of 2009, a bakery launched an expensive sandwich at all the stores. At the time of the great depression, the bread suddenly became the focus of criticism, but by contrast, other goods in the bakery had become "specials", stimulating consumption instead.

Goldilocks Price Surgery. The term comes from the fairytale of Goldilocks and three bears. Goldilocks sneaks into the bear's home and faces three choices: three chairs, three bowls of porridge and three beds, but Goldilocks always wavered, picked and chose. The business is to make three models of the same series of products thirty percent off, customers usually make the middle of the decision - this method is also called the "comparative pricing method".

Information on "big sale". This trick is so simple and inconceivable that merchants seize every opportunity and spare no effort to remind consumers that the shop is doing preferential activities. In fact, commodity prices may not necessarily drop.

Red promotional logo. Red is an eye-catching color with the longest wavelength, and our eyes will make red objects closer to reality when dealing with colors. In the next 10 years, the aging of the population will also make the red more attractive, because as the age increases, the cornea will gradually turn yellow, and the ability to distinguish colors will gradually become worse.

Using the principle of numbers. Retailers know that the price at the end of "9" means "substantial benefits". The ending price of "0" means exquisite and upscale, and the price at the end of "7" means a big sale of goods. Numerous experiments confirm these theories. Why do we give the figures such a sense of irrationality? Neuroeconomists believe that this may be a so-called "left digit effect", that is, from 1999 to 2000, or from 39 to 40 years old, although it is only a year away, it is very different. Combined with the mantissa principle and the reference point theory, these figures can lead to a big outbreak of dopamine and let consumers go out of their pockets.

　　 Why discount packages?

Always hiding it?

For decades, "sample sale" has always been New York. Clothes & Accessories One of the most important activities in the world. But "sample sale" has always been. clothing The secret activities of the community.

In these temporary sale events, there are mainly three kinds of commodities: one is a sample specially made for human evaluation, the other is the product that is intended to produce wholesale but fails to actually put into production, and the other is the remaining unsalable stock sold in the previous season.

Any luxury brand wants to have huge profits in the mass market, and the popularity of this brand expansion is highly risky. Imagine that when Paris Hilton put a bag on his back, I'm afraid this bag will become a poison for everyone to avoid. Therefore, the phenomenon of stock detention occurs from time to time. In order to maintain brand image, such brands can only choose to quietly reduce prices.

Of course, the customers are coming for the special price, but the organizers can always let them be respected and treasured, because the big brands only invite the old customers to participate in this secret discount event. This gives the old customers a sense of superiority in their own people, and the new customers will have a feeling of "winning the lottery". At the same time, this low-key way of sales promotion also avoids the chaos caused by mad fights.

Some people say: even if they can't sell, the famous brand businesses will rather destroy the goods, and they will never choose to donate. They do not want to see the embarrassing scene of the beggar on the roadside and the fashionable lady wearing the same coat. It seems that this is not the case. Those covert samples will actually become a part of popular culture.

And more and more retailers have set up online discount stores. In the past, the traditional sample sale would only touch 1% of the Americans, most of whom were New York native, but some Internet sales would let more people outside New York know about this.

People will no longer think that visiting these special stores is "very embarrassing" because everyone knows that "it's just a discount to sweep goods, not to buy cheap goods."

　　 Famous discount City

Is it really "small profits but quick turnover"?

Nowadays, there are always many people in the famous discount city. Behind those seemingly irresistible discounts, there are hidden brilliant ideas. For example, woven fabrics. Leatherwear Bottega Veneta, which is famous for its trademark printing, is only popular with its logo design. In a discount City, you can only see bright colors such as egg yolk, and it is hard to find a black or brown style that is sought after and never goes out of fashion.

In fact, many brands that have been sold in famous discount stores have never appeared in other places. Because they are all specially designed for discount cities. In the past, manufacturers might also add three words to the label, and now they will only play three small points under the standard trademark, because the original logo is a bit of "hurt self-esteem", and consumers who are not afraid of dishonesty will buy it at a discount store. clothes Return to the positive price store. When you buy things here, you never see the word "discount". Merchants will only quote a higher price at random, saying it is the original price, so that you can compare yourself with the price tag.

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　　 Guide to survival in the era of international promotion

Germany: sales promotion is restricted

In Germany, until 2001, coupons, like cocaine, belonged to prohibited items. This is due to the discount act and the free gift act. These two laws limit prices to death, so that businesses can only reduce their prices by 3% at most, and can not give any gifts.

In 2004, the German government announced the abolition of the Anti Unfair Competition Act. But the law clearly stipulates that businesses can only hold promotional activities in two situations: the end of the season and the anniversary celebration. Moreover, the anniversary of the celebration can only be 25 times (25th anniversary or 50th anniversary), which fully reflects the accuracy of the Germanic people.

　　 Japan: pricing strategy "lost in Tokyo"

Tokyo's Ginza is the "fairyland" of brands, and countless luxury brands have set up stores here. Tokyo has been a "gold mine" in the luxury market since 1980s. Consumers here are cash rich and quality conscious. According to the economist, 85% of Japanese women have at least one LV product.

In fact, in Tokyo, the price of LV is 50% higher than that of Paris store, and Prada even has to raise 65%. There is no strategy behind this behavior. They do it because they can do so. Of course, they can also find some justifications for raising prices. For example, when luxury goods arrive in Japan, they charge 50% to 60% customs duties. But the reason why these products are so expensive is due to the desire of Japanese shoppers from twentieth Century to 80s 70s - they are very willing to squander, and prosperity seems never to end. Of course, there is no such thing as defective goods or two class goods. For discerning Japanese, selling bad quality goods is outrageous.

　 Turkey: big bazaar is a bargaining paradise.

Turkey's great bazaar has always been a paradise for bargain buyers. "Big Bazar" is Persian, meaning market and farm market. Istanbul's largest bazaar is one of the largest and oldest bazaars in the world. There are at least 58 indoor streets and more than 4000 shops, attracting customers between 250 thousand and 400 thousand each day. But as soon as we get in here, people lose their sense of direction. The more than 60 streets are winding and stretching, making people dizzy.

But it is necessary to understand that all the famous brands here are counterfeit products. Turkey contributes about $6 billion annually to the global counterfeit market. This is also the best place to see if a brand is hot. The more copies you see in a brand, the more popular the brand is in the mass market.

　 Britain: the nobility is also a discount maniac.

The BST shopping mall is about an hour's drive from central London, where members of the British royalty shop. People are familiar with high-end brands, such as Gucci, Prada and other prices here are very "close to the people".

Although it has been less than 20 years since the opening of the BST shopping village, the number of consumers coming shopping here has exceeded 4 million 500 thousand annually. In 2010, the average annual sales volume per square foot reached 1400 pounds (about 14701 yuan), the highest among the similar shopping malls in the world.

　　 The trump card of price cutting

Consumers should have control.

Although discounted luxuries are hard to bargain, Nancy Fawkes, a "bargain hunter", realized that discounts had become mainstream 3 years ago. She switched to a "bargain coach", telling her students about her bargaining skills. She said, smile and be indomitable. Never increase the volume and never accept the word "no". Her favorite opening speech is: "is this really the lowest price?" this open question helps to start a dialogue.

Nancy has a set of self talk: "when it's time to bargain, it's better to be humorous. You can say, 'is it a jump price?" or ask the clerk if the elderly can make a discount. Anyway, I can think of any reason, for example, "Oh, my God, I don't have so much money in my pocket today." You can even ask if there's a special price for friends or relatives. If the shop assistant shows a confused expression, then stop, the right is not understood by the other party. But if the salesperson squeezed your eyes, smiled and responded to your joke: "you don't know my name, how do you make friends?" Congratulations, you have succeeded.

Another famous "bargain coach" is Ed Brodo. Brodo believes that negotiations in retail should focus on "win-win", so that consumers and businesses feel that they have been treated fairly. Brodo said his method is "serial three style", namely "frown", "squeezing" and "nibbling".

He said that after the offer, you can start with a "frown". It's very simple. You just need to frown and say, "what?!" with a hint that it seems ridiculous no matter how much the other party offers, and then squeezes. It is the use of parity method in conversation. You just need to say, "Hey, I like your family very much, but the house next door is much cheaper. It's the same thing. Why is your home so expensive?" soon, the other side will compromise.

Next, the "light bite" appeared. You have to say carelessly, "Oh, yes, give it to me." no one wants to let go of their business, especially when the other party thinks you have already done business. With this last formula, you can buy it. Suit A shirt is given free of charge or the cost of the sofa is avoided.