Since time immemorial, humans have used psychological tricks to take advantage of our neighbors for their own benefit.

Of course, this survival tool has been perpetuated until today , and even forms part of the way of working of many companies and people who, although they do not cheat, because the law keeps them at bay on many occasions, manage to manipulate our brain to make us choose the option they want.

Psychological tricks of the online shops

It is well known that the big supermarket chains use many of these tricks, which we have told you about in the past here, so that we end up buying much more than we need. These techniques have been deeply studied by the field of marketing called consumer behaviour, which continues to advance thanks to disciplines such as neuromarketing .

However, in recent times purchases in physical stores are decreasing due to the emergence of online commerce. And this is due to the rise of online stores in the heat of platforms such as 1and1 that allow you to create and maintain an Internet trade without almost any computer knowledge. Thus, both large and small businesses that thrive on the Internet also use certain psychological tricks to, like the physical trade, get to sell more.

1. Reduced prices

Among the various strategies used by online sellers are those that benefit from the loss aversion that a consumer may feel. In this sense, price reductions shown next to the original price give the potential buyer the feeling that they are missing out on a great purchase at a very good price, given the savings offered.

Also, many companies, especially airlines and accommodation sites, play with the feeling of scarcity and urgency . In this way, websites like Booking show you that there is only one room left in the hotel you are interested in, and that just at that moment there are several people looking at the same accommodation you are interested in. Similarly, they show discounts for a limited time that create an urgency for the potential consumer. Amazon also uses time as a weapon in their favor by including the possibility of receiving an item the next day or as soon as possible when buying the product within ‘X’ minutes.

2. Free of charge if you buy several products

On the other hand, another very recurrent technique is to offer free shipping above a certain amount, which in many occasions causes us to buy things that we really don’t need in order to get the shipping for free.

In addition, online sellers can be very insistent, since once you select the product you want, even if you do not finish the purchase, they will still offer you the product or service you have shown interest in through ads on other websites, and all thanks to ‘cookies’.

3. Good user experience

But without a doubt, what really increases the sales of any website, beyond the tricks, is that the purchase process is as easy, comfortable and pleasant as possible. In this sense, the e-commerce giant, Amazon, allows you to finish the purchase with a single click through the Checkout Express, once the website already has your personal and payment details. The experts in online sales are increasingly aware that we, the buyers, are lazy, which is why many of the shopping carts remain halfway through the purchase operation.

But although online stores get us on countless occasions more money than we would like, can be a very useful tool when spending less, especially following tips to save money on the Internet and often having patience.