Words That Infer and Influence Your Buying

One of today’s greatest concerns is the economy. Consistently more and more of you are being left with more month than money. You are struggling to be able to have the grocery budget stretch enough to not only buy food for the table, but also food for the pantry.

One way to be able to stretch your money, even with the economy playing a major roll as a roller coaster, is to know how to read the ads. You need to know how to read them, not just look at them! You need to read the ads as if they are the market report and you are a major investor … they are and you are!

However, did you ever imagine that the ads might not be what you think you see … but what you perceive? How do you think the ad layout affects your decision to buy at a certain store? Are you sure the accentuated prices are reduced?

Actually learning how to read the ads is worth the effort. You need to know how to recognize good prices not perceived bargains.

Ad Insight: Words That Infer
As the economy worsens, price war tactics between stores and between manufacturers will increase. It will become increasingly important as you attempt to purchase groceries for your pantry or groceries for everyday, that you sharpen you shopping skills.

During the next few weeks develop your awareness skills in reading local ads. List like and similar phrases used in the Best Buy ads. Don’t allow familiarity to cloud your insight as you watch the ads to see how many of the following terms are now being used.

Following are some of the words and phrases that are used in ads to influence how and what you buy.

Discount Foods: Infers lower prices – prices that are discounted

Lower Prices; Lower than what? Lower than whose? Lower than next year?

Super-Savers: Some might be, but are all the items in the ad super priced?

Percent (%) off: Percentage off of what price? It infers off the regular price. You need to be familiar with the regular price.

Bargain: The word itself is a lure to price conscious consumers. It may or may not mean a better than normal price. It infers greater savings.

Warehouse: The word infers a lower than regular price image. Warehouse infers that it is synonymous with discount. It also infers greater savings.

Buy and Save: It infers that in order to save you should buy now. It is used as a price war tactic. It infers better prices than competitors and that all items in the ad are “sale” priced.

Prices Slashed: Why? Were they previously too high or have they been inflated for several weeks to “prove” a specific store is more interested in the consumer’s budget than its competitor?

Sale: This becomes a magic word. It has power to draw you into the store and because the word is used shoppers willingly part with their money. It automatically infers lower prices, but could well mean FOR sale!

Bonus/In-Store Specials: Many times these prices are unadvertised and featured as added incentive to insure your return. A lot of “bonuses” could be waged as a price war tactic to infer better overall prices than the competition.

Case-Lot: The rule of thumb used to be – buy by the case for better prices. That is now inferred and it may or may not be the case. (No pun intended)

This is one of the ways you can learn to gain more buying power. It may surprise you, as you read the ads and your awareness increases, how many of the terms and words you have “not seen” or recognized as having any influence on how you have previously spent.

Maybe next week I should write a test … No, I’ll just be excited to hear all of the, “Did you see that?” Or, “You were right, Barbara, you won’t believe how many I found.” This will be better than a “word search” contest.

See Beating the High Cost of Eating for a lot more about reading the ads and saving money!


Return to the Neighborhood