23 Ways Companies Trick You Into Spending More Money

Most of us know retailers are doing everything they can to get us to spend big — especially for the holidays, when guilt and emotion might override common sense shopping. But many of their tactics involve a surprising level of consumer psychology, especially during this age of soaring prices, and some are downright shady. Here are the most notable ways you're being primed to spend, including a new explosion in extra fees that businesses are justifying in the name of — you guessed it — inflation. 

Related: 29 Times Companies Tried to Trick Consumers

Most shoppers understand why prices have been rising, even if they don't like it. But here's something that will make your blood boil: A Digital.com survey of 1,000 business owners and executives found that more than half — 56% — are jacking up prices more than they need to in order to recoup the higher costs of doing business. That's particularly the case at larger companies, where 63% of respondents say they expect increased profits to outpace necessary "inflation" price hikes. Another study by Accountable.us found that retailers including CVS, Kroger, and T.J. Maxx parent company TJX have increased prices unnecessarily, and the nation's top 10 retailers, including Lowe's and Target, collectively boosted their profits by $24.6 billion over the last two years. This news comes as companies are enjoying their most profitable year since the 1950s, with pre-tax profits last year up 25% from 2020, according to Bloomberg.

Related: 15 Important Steps to Take to Outsmart Inflation, According to Experts

Given that we're all watching our bottom lines like a hawk right now, there's a classic way companies like to fool us: By keeping their prices the same, but changing the product itself so that they still fatten profits — otherwise known as "shrinkflation." For instance, Burger King's largest franchisee is giving customers eight chicken nuggets instead of 10 for the same amount of money, betting that a smaller portion will be less objectionable to customers than a higher pice. Some retailers may even mark up jumbo-size packages that shoppers assume represent a good deal without actually doing the math, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Related: Is the Costco Executive Membership Worth It?

We all know to expect a raft of fees when we're buying something like an airline ticket, but ... a simple dinner out? To offset inflation, some businesses are introducing a range of novel new fees. Take a look at your bill next time you dine out — you might notice something out of the ordinary. Fees like "fuel surcharge," “noncash adjustment,” or “kitchen appreciation” have made their way onto bills as restaurants cope with the impact of inflation and a tight labor market. Similarly, Uber and Lyft have added fees to riders' tabs to help combat gas prices, and Visa and Mastercard have hiked "swipe fees" on retailers, a move that will likely trickle down to consumers.

"Don't wait!" "Order now!" "Sale ends tomorrow!" Whether you're shopping in store or online, chances are you see this kind of urgency everywhere. Some online retailers, including Amazon, even use countdown timers that tell shoppers exactly how long they have to make a purchase at a certain price. This tactic is among the more transparent ways retailers get you to spend, in the hopes you'll be more likely to buy if you think a sweet deal may pass you by. 

Related: 16 Insider Tips and Secrets for Frugal Online Shopping

Being able to order everything from clothing to groceries with just one click is all about making shopping convenient, right? Sure, but it comes with a huge upside for retailers such as Amazon. One-click ordering makes us much less likely to abandon those virtual carts, meaning we spend more than we otherwise might if we had to — ugh — click a few more times or enter payment information. 

Related: Signs You're Getting Scammed While Shopping Online

This one's for anyone who ever wondered why that bottle of shampoo isn't $5 instead of $4.99. In a strategy called "charm pricing," researchers have found that we're more likely to think we're getting a deal at $4.99 because we associate the price more closely with $4 instead of $5. That, of course, makes us more likely to buy. In the flip side, called "prestige pricing," high-end retailers are better off using rounded prices shoppers are more likely to associate with quality and luxury. 

Related: Stop Paying for These 37 Things to Save Money Now

There's a reason other than convenience that subscription boxes and similar services suddenly seem so common. Inertia — namely, the hassle of canceling a subscription, even one that we don't often use — keeps companies' pockets nicely lined. It's true even though we're also unlikely to consume enough of something to justify the fixed price, and researchers find we would be better off giving in to the occasional splurge than signing up for a flat recurring rate — even if it "seems" like a great value. 

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Common sense tells us that customers return more purchases when retailers have liberal return policies. True — but retailers have also found that shoppers are more likely to buy in the first place when such policies are in effect. Interestingly, longer return windows also correlate with fewer returns, possibly because shoppers become more attached to their buys and feel less urgency to decide whether to take them back. 

Related: 28 Products Costco Will Take Back That Are a Pain to Return Anywhere Else

It turns out shoppers don't like pushing around empty carts — and marketing experts say a cart that's double the size can lead shoppers, on average, to buy 40% more than they may actually need. So while no one likes to run out of room, next time you head to the store, consider opting for a basket or a smaller cart to avoid supermarket overspending. 

Ever gone to Costco on a weekend just for the samples? Our favorite warehouse club may seem generous with the freebies, but there's an ulterior motive: You're more likely to buy something when you get a free sample, largely because of reciprocity — the idea that you buy a product as a "thank you," whether out of gratitude or even guilt for being given the sample in the first place. 

It might seem sleek and chic for that high-end restaurant to omit dollar signs on its menu, or for that little boutique not to include them on price tags. But there's something more at play: Researchers theorize that we're likely to spend more when we don't see the dollar signs, likely because it helps reduce the psychological "pain of paying."

Retro game consoles have been a hot holiday gift for a couple years now, and to marketers, that's no surprise. It turns out that fond memories make shoppers happy — and that blast of emotion is far more likely to make you buy something. Next time a company churns out some sort of throwback product, enjoy the reminiscing, but consider keeping your wallet closed. 

Those end caps at grocery stores may indeed display great deals, but that's unlikely to be true for every product. Grocery stores often pair a loss leader — a product sold at a deep discount — with a premium product with a price to match, hoping you'll also get the latter while assuming it's also a deal. It's a good strategy, because experts say highly visible end-aisle displays can boost sales by 30%. 

You find name-brand items staring you right in the face in grocery aisles, with cheaper store brands closer to the floor. Those companies pay big for premium product placement, betting you're too lazy to look up or down to find a better deal. And if you've noticed that your kids always throw a fit in the cereal aisle, there's a reason for that: Flashy boxes festooned with cartoon characters are likely to be placed at a lower height where they can see (and beg) for them. 

Red at Target, blue at Walmart: Far from random design choices, colors can affect how we feel about a company and even prime us to buy more than we otherwise would. Target shoppers who feel they spend way too much there can partially blame all the red, which experts say can make us more likely to buy quickly, without too much thought. Walmart's blue is chosen carefully to appeal to the masses. 

There's a reason that brand you've never heard of is trumpeting all its five-star reviews in a stream of Facebook ads. You'll probably be a lot more curious about a product — and more likely to buy, of course — if "everyone" is raving about it. This simple concept, called "social proof" in marketing circles, also applies when companies bring in expert testimonials or include sales numbers in their advertising. 

"Would you like to add a bakery item for 99 cents?" If you've eaten a meal at Panera Bread, you've no doubt heard this casual attempt at upselling. And if you've shopped on Amazon, you've no doubt been shown items related to the product you're checking out, or bundles of related items (such as a camera, a case, and a memory card) sold for less than what they would cost if bought separately. A deal? Only if you were planning to buy all three to begin with.

Even the most ardent Ikea devotees will admit how hard it is to navigate the maze-like store. Want to sound smart? Call it the "Gruen effect" — the simple idea that exposing you to more products will encourage you to buy more products. You can also see it in action at the supermarket, where you'll have to traverse as much of the store as possible just to get that gallon of milk tucked away in the back corner. 

Many people would balk at shelling out $50 for a T-shirt. But what if you were also shown a $30 T-shirt and a $100 T-shirt? Suddenly the $50 T-shirt doesn't seem so expensive anymore — and if you want to balance price and quality, it seems downright reasonable. This tactic is rampant online, where shoppers are often shown a few choices at checkout. Chances are the retailer wants you to choose a certain one, and will price one of the other options — the "decoy" — in a wild, overblown way that will steer you back to the preferred option.

Grocery stores love to dangle deals such as "10 for $10" or "3 for $6." The reason is obvious: Shoppers usually buy more, sometimes much more, than they need to maximize this "deal." This often holds true even when the store doesn't require shoppers to buy 10 cartons of yogurt, for instance, to get them for $1 each — simply because of the power of suggestion.

Is a size 8 really an 8? Or is it closer to a 10, or even a 12? Many clothing brands have been putting smaller-size labels on larger-cut clothes for a while now, and while it can make figuring out what size you really are a headache in any given store, the practice shows little sign of slowing. Simply put, fitting into a smaller size makes shoppers feel good, and shoppers who feel good are more likely to buy.

Far from a good-faith effort to reward frequent customers, loyalty programs are all about reinforcement. Shoppers who buy more — exactly what the retailer wants, of course — are rewarded with some sort of discount or deal, and that reinforces the behavior (buying more) that got them the reward. So the cycle repeats itself, lining the retailer's pockets even more as shoppers pursue their next reward. 

BOGO! Everyone loves a good BOGO sale because they get more, more, more. But so does the store. That's because retailers can clear inventory more quickly and make more money doing it. If you buy a $16 T-shirt and get a second shirt free, you've still spent $16 — $8 more than you would have spent on the one shirt you actually needed if it had simply been half off. Stores can cash in even more by making the free or discounted item one with a much lower profit margin than the full-price item.