Consumer psychology in the digital age is a field based on familiarity with factors that motivate people in making buying decisions. A psychological profile of the target audience may help us in determining a marketing strategy, product strategy and the creation of sales tactics.
Here are some recommendations for tactical online sales promotions that may be suitable for any digital store. This toolbox is based on five psychological triggers relevant to promotion and persuasion activities –
A sense of commitment,
Fear of missing opportunities,
Consistency,
Seeking rewards,
Fear of shortages
- “Try before you buy” programs – there is no official commitment but when the supplier sends several products to choose from – there is a high chance that there will be a purchase
- Online auctions – an excellent format for creating triggers based on the aspiration to win for participants. “Raising the hand” is carried out in many cases only for the purpose of victory
- A wish lists – give the consumer an option to buy immediately or save the product for future purchase. An act of saving afterwards increases the chances that there will indeed be a purchase.
- Cross-selling – A consumer tends to agree to a complementary purchase that reinforces the decision of the original purchase.
- Freemium – Basic free use with a paid usage layer is a good way to generatelong-term commitment and create an additional source of income
- Loss alert – messages focused on losing an opportunity if no buying decision is made now
- Free trials – When a trial period ends there is a tendency to continuity usually due to fear of losing the service and its applications
- Submitting a full purchase card – Pre-filling the shopping cart – a purchase card that also includes a complementary product at a discount increases the chances of a double sale out of fear of missing the discount
- Progress bars – updating the situation gives a sense of control and strengthens the desire to finish the process
- Counters and notifications – alerts about process that we have not completed strengthen users desire to finish what they started.
- Activities that meet the need of consumers to identify special opportunities:
Collecting points, advancing to the next level, releasing closed applications, early entry/ “early birds” format (to the new catalog, to the collection of the upcoming season, etc.), discount on inviting friends to the service / store, free shipping over a certain amount of purchase.
- Activities based on the basic fear of a situation of scarcity:
Notification of limited inventory of the product, notification of a defined schedule for purchase, Next day shipping, shortening of trial period