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Sure. I see several points: - It seems to me that people buy stuff they don't really need just because it's discounted - When the relative discount is large b
by shafyy 9y ago
Sure. I see several points:
- It seems to me that people buy stuff they don't really need just because it's discounted
- When the relative discount is large but the absolute discount tiny, people tend to overestimate the value they're getting
- Lower income folks tend to spend more on materialist things that they don't really need, but when it comes to essential items like food, they try to save money
I just can't believe that people go this crazy over a couple of euros in savings. Maybe someone with a psychology background can help me out? :-)
- tnzn 9y agoYou mean marketing tricks people into buying stuff they don't need ? Now that's news As for your question, it's mostly marketing plays with knowed biases and affects. And low-income people are all the more pressured to buy stuff on discount because they feel like they can only get it now. When you earn 5k a month, you don't really care about a discount, you can buy that Nutella whenever you want. As for their saving on important stuff while spending on consumerist stuff, they just follow the norms we push down their throats. Nobody knows you eat pasta and shower with cold water. Everybody can see your 5 years old smartphone and dirty cloths.
- shafyy 9y agoYes, that makes sense, thanks for expanding. Do you think better financial literacy education could decrease this problem?
- tnzn 9y agoI guess it would, but teaching financial litteracy, like any kind of litteracy, goes beyond just teaching facts. It's a whole culture, a whole set of behaviors that needto be taught. And I don't see it happening in a society which "needs" docile consumers.