An expert in the psychological tricks supermarkets use to get you to spend more has spotted what could be the worst deal ever in her local branch of a UK chain.
Dr Eva Krockow was shopping in a Leicestershire branch of Sainsbury's a couple of days ago when she spotted the odd 'bargain'.
The red label indicating a deal caught Dr Krockow's eye and she headed into the chocolate aisle.
There she found a Cadbury's Wispa bar which had been 65p on offer for the 'new lower price' of just 65p.
The assistant psychology professor at the University of Leicester tweeted the store’s official page and said: “I'm not falling for this "special offer", @sainsburys!”
Speaking to LeicestershireLive she said: “I don’t think this was done to trick anyone. When we see the red label, we do automatically think “oh this is a deal”.
“It’s a method used by supermarkets because they know that customers don’t have enough time when it comes to decision making and they grab the item."
The expert in decision making has written a number of articles for Psychology Today highlighting tricks used by major supermarkets to persuade shoppers to buy something.
Dr Krockow has also written an article about common sales traps and issued advice to consumers so they don’t get caught out by ‘deals’ which might not be as good as you might think.
She said: “I think people should look a bit closer at the deals and take some time to consider them a bit more but also identify these ‘nudges’ that supermarkets use”.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We appreciate this being brought to our attention and are making sure the correct price label is in place.”
