TORONTO — Drawers were overflowing with skin care products and makeup. Three types of blush, numerous eyeshadows, more than a dozen mascaras, and foundation and serum samples sat unused for years.
Still, Eduk Brooks relies on seasonal sales, especially in skin care, to get the best deals. It was her retail therapy, chasing dopamine hits, she said.
“lots of [my debt] “It started when I bought something because I thought it was a good deal,” Brooks said. “It was a way for me to justify it by saying, ‘I’m saving money.'” I wasn’t spending the money. . ”
Expectations for sales often led to overspending, and she ended up with nearly $50,000 in debt.
Retail analyst Bruce Winder said sales could be very attractive.
A product’s value is an equation divided by its price, he said in an interview. The daily price of the item is an indicator of value. When prices drop, Winder explains, shoppers think it’s a better value.
“When you see something for sale, something grows inside you,” he said.
“There’s a lot of marketing that attacks us every day on social media and on TV and tries to tell us that we’re not good people without this product, so we have to be careful.”
It’s not just a functional exercise. Selling brings so much joy, Winder said, that it sends so-called happy hormones coursing through the body, making people feel good.
Retailers rely on sales to bring more customers into their stores and increase revenue, especially outside of regular sales seasons such as Black Friday, Boxing Day sales, and spring sales.
Ying Zhu, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Guelph, says sales create a psychological sense of saving money. Sales that limit the number of items shoppers can buy can also create an artificial sense of scarcity by giving the impression that they’re guaranteed to get a good deal, she added.
“[Sales]pushes people to make decisions before they have done thorough comparisons and research to make a rational decision,” Zhu said. “They’re just driven by a sense of crisis.”
Mr. Winder said the illusion of sales savings could quickly disappear if shoppers put their discretionary purchases on credit card. This is because shoppers end up paying interest on their purchases if their credit card charges are not paid in full at the end of the month.
“You’re going to be in big trouble because your disposable income will be used to pay off debt from previous purchases and won’t be enough to buy necessities like food, rent and gas,” he said.
Brooks noticed what was happening about six years ago. Then she began her journey to break out of her sales cycle and her overspending. That journey ultimately led her to leave the field of engineering and become a financial educator for her company, Two Sides of a Dime.
“The root cause of the debt was overspending, and a lot of it was consumer goods. I couldn’t really justify things like student loans,” she said, as she began paying off her $47,000 debt. He talked about his memories.
Brooks looked at how much she was spending, where that money was going, and if it was going to do anything.
Later, even when purchasing personal care, the budget was further broken down into categories, creating a budget with strict boundaries, such as $150 for clothing and $100 for skin care.
Brooks also avoided using “bank money” and started carrying cash or a prepaid credit card to stay within her budget.
“I bring cash, not a credit card. If I walk into Sephora, I’m going to be tempted. There’s always going to be something I want.”
Brooks said she only buys items she knows will be useful, not because they’re on sale.
“It’s important to not just buy to get a discount, but to make good use of it so it ends up being wasted,” she said. She added that it’s also helpful to look at the cost per unit for items sold at Walmart and Costco.
Without a budget and discipline, sales addiction can be dangerous. Winder said it’s important to ask yourself if you really need the item on sale.
“Are I going to use this, or am I going to let it sit in the closet and collect dust?” Winder asks herself every time she sees something on sale. “By inserting that pause, you walk away from 95 percent of the sale items you might have purchased.”
Shoppers should also be wary of deceptive sales. Hidden fees, service charges, and additional costs can reduce your actual savings.
Zhu suggested making a list of the items you need to buy, researching their prices, and following the list closely to avoid being impulsive.
If the items on your list are on sale, that’s great. That’s because “I was already planning on buying it and it just happened to be on sale,” she said.
But don’t worry if you don’t see any items on sale listed. There are other opportunities, Zhu said. “There will be sales and discounts coming up.”
Winder says there are other ways to enjoy sales while still feeling like you’re saving money and getting what you want.
“You can rent products and recycled products,” he said. “Saving the environment will save your wallet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2024.
Ritika Dubey, Canadian Press
