Every year, in November, as the air gets a little chilly, our screens light up with big, red flashing banners of the most-awaited Black Friday Sales. People around the world use their savings to avail the biggest sale of the year. But the real question is, “Are Black Friday Sales Worth the Hype?” Many believe they save loads of money shopping from Black Friday discount deals, but on the contrary, people get caught up in the frenzy, filling their carts with things they didn’t even need in the first place. And what about the flash deals? Are they real? Quite not. To your surprise, almost half of the products you get from those flash deals and boast in front of your friends about, aren’t even real! So let’s unravel the truth behind the overrated Black Friday Sales and what psychological tricks these brands are playing on you.

Black Friday Sales – Real or Just… Illusion?

For someone who loves a good bargain, Black Friday Sales feel like the ultimate deal, where you can shop at the lowest prices possible, saving big bucks. But are you really saving money and outsmarting the big brands, or is it the other way around? As soon as the sale banners go up, everything changes. Everyone’s rushing to the nearest stores and leaving with overflowing carts. People wait all year round to get things at the lowest prices possible. But behind all that glitter of big sales and discounts lies an ugly truth. Brands are not selling their products at lower prices so you can afford a new TV set or a laptop. But they are playing a century-old marketing trick on you. According to research, 92% of the items you get from big Black Friday sales are cheaper or sold at the same price before or at other times of the year. Shocking, right? But here’s the thing. Brands are using deceptive marketing tactics where they create an artificial sale that may seem like you’re saving money, but on the flip side, you are just manipulated into buying things at recycled prices or worse… slightly higher.

Fake Discounts and Digital Scams

Every year, when it’s time for the Big Sale, a wave of new online websites emerges selling products at unbelievably low prices. While some of these sites are real, a good number of them are fake digital stores mimicking the real ones. This is where a shopper needs to be alert, before being caught up in the hype and ending up paying for things that won’t even be delivered. Next, we have stores playing “Deceptive Marketing”. One of the tricks customers easily fall for is fake discounts. What most retailers do is they hike the product prices almost 30 days before the big sale. Even if you track the product for a month, you’ll think you are getting it at a lower price, thanks to the Black Friday Sale, but in reality, that’s the original price of the item. Some stores use this tactic as their usual selling trick, where they set a fake original price of the product and keep it on sale throughout the year. This way, customers compare the discounted price to the previous reference price and think, “This is way cheaper than its original price, let’s get this!”

The FOMO That Gets You Every Time

Some stores may not be playing with prices, but they might be playing with your minds. Brands create this sense of urgency by building pressure using phrases like “Only for today!” “Only a few pieces left”, or ” 126 people are viewing this product”, so you panic and end up buying things you didn’t even need. Comparing prices? Checking reviews? In the heat of the moment, you forget to do anything but add that item to your cart. This is the way they engineer an environment where you feel as if taking the time to think will result in losing the golden chance to bag the biggest discounts. This is a psychological manipulation where consumers are forced to decide based on fake marketing messages and claims. They are using your FOMO against you and selling items you would regret buying.

How to Become a Smart Shopper

Here are 5 ways you can save yourself from falling for fake discount deals and psychological manipulation when shopping from this Black Friday sale:

1. Track Price History

Most brands hike product prices a few weeks before the big sale and artificially drop them to the original price as a discount deal. To prevent yourself from getting caught in these tricks, you should track the product price history. Sites like CamelCamelCamel and PriceRunner help you track price trends over weeks or months.

2. Shop From Trusted Retailers

It is really important that the retail stores you’re shopping from are legitimate. It is advised to stick with the trusted retailers you’ve a purchasing history with. In case you wanna try a new store, make sure to check their reviews and digital footprint if the store is online.

3. Think Twice Before Paying

No matter how big the sale is or how quickly the product is selling, always take your time to decide if you really need what you’re buying. Blinded by slashed prices, most people make impulse purchases and then end up regretting them. When shopping online, don’t forget to check if the site is real before entering your credit card details.

4. Beware of Fake Urgency

Next time you find yourself falling for fake urgency or discount claims, remind yourself that this is just another marketing tactic. Take your time, compare the price, and see if the item is worth the money.

5. Set a Budget

Setting a budget is one of the smart ways to keep your spending in control. A budget helps you in resisting impulse buys and forces you to question the need for everything you plan to add to your cart.

This Black Friday, Shop Wisely!

The truth is, some sales are indeed real. To clear the inventory or make room for a new season’s stock, stores put huge sales on their items to attract customers. But what about the rest? Well, most of the sales, especially the overhyped Black Friday Sales, are just marketing tricks. You go to stores hoping to get bigger discounts, and the next thing you know, your cart is filled with a dozen unnecessary items. Your FOMO takes you aisle to aisle and store to store following the glitter of those big red discount boards. In short, Black Friday Sales are not a scam, but they are not a miracle either. It’s just a time of the year when marketers outsmart the emotional shoppers by playing with their psychology and using their emotions against them. So, to make the Big Friday sale work for you, start shopping wisely.