I have the good fortune of living close to an incredible open air market. Yes, it's noisy, crowded and dirty, but cheap fruits and vegetables are in abundance. I passed through today around closing time, when many vendors are trying to get rid of extra merchandise. At the bakery I really like, the guy was offering rolls for half price. I probably would have bought one anyways, but he made my decision a lot easier. The answer was 'yes'.
This old-fashioned marketplace has a lot of valuable marketing lessons to teach us. This time-tested selling principle never fails to impress me:
People are more willing to buy something that's cheaper than something that's cheap.
Let's say I know that Product X normally costs $5 but now it's on sale for $2.50. Compare this to the same product in a different store which is regularly sold for $2. The first product is more attractive even though it's more expensive. Why? Because humans like to compare things. And they appreciate novelty.
A $2 product costs $2 more than I would ideally like to spend. A $5 product that's now $2.50 is $2.50 that I now don't have to pay. That's the comparative element. It's the draw behind the "Comparison shopping" phenomenom which is so popular.
And the break from routine is the novelty. $2 all the time is boring. Yeah it's cheaper, but since it's always the same there is nothing attracting my attention. The $5 halved is out of the ordinary. It grabs us.
More marketing lessons learned from "the shuk" coming soon.
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