What is Consumer Deception & What Do We Mean by Brands Fooling Consumers
When we talk about consumer deception, we are referring to brands finding sneaky ways to fool their customers. This could be in the form of dishonesty, misdirection, or even false advertising. Many of these tactics are used by brands to market their products or services in a way that does not accurately represent the actual product or service. These ridiculous and sneaky methods are causing confusion and, in some cases, deception among consumers. Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more common in the world of consumer products and services.
The Top 10 Most Creative, Unbelievable Examples of Company Scams
1. Fake Charity Scheme: A company convinces customers that their purchase supports a “good cause”, only to discover the cause does not exist and their money goes to funding their own business.
2. Fake Reviews: Companies pay reviewers to falsely praise their products, giving customers an inaccurate description of the product or service.
3. Gimmicks & Sleazy Sales Tactics: Companies use false advertising or outrageous sales tactics to try to manipulate customers into buying their product.
4. Bait & Switch Scam: A company will offer a lower cost product or service only to try to upsell the customer to an overpriced product.
5. Unauthorized Billing: A company sneakily tacks on extra charges unknowingly to the customer’s bill, making it difficult to detect.
6. Phony Tax Break: A company will claim they can reduce their customer’s tax burden when they don’t have the authority to.
7. Bogus Information: Companies provide false information to their customers in order to get them to purchase their product or service.
8. Fake Rewards Programs: Companies create rewards programs for customers that only offer low quality rewards and make it difficult to redeem them.
9. Unreasonable Cancellation Fees: Companies add excessive cancellation fees to their products, making it expensive to cancel an order.
10. Unethical Return Policies: Companies have unreasonable return policies, making it difficult for customers to get their money back.
How Supermarkets Are Being Clever With Package and Pricing to Deceive Customers
Supermarkets are experts at manipulating customers’ shopping decisions with clever packaging and pricing tactics. Consumers may not realize, but marketers are actively using a variety of tricks to con them, making them think they’re getting a better deal than they actually are. These deceptive tactics involve cleverly designed packaging and packaging sizes, false discounts, confusing labels, and a plethora of other tricks. From eye-catching labels to massive family-size packages, supermarkets are continuously finding creative ways to draw shoppers in, no matter how unethical and misleading these methods may be.
Surprising Strategies Marketers Use To Influence Buyers Into Making Costly Choices
There’s no denying it—brands and marketers are getting better at manipulating us into spending money and making costly choices. From deceptive pricing tactics to psychological nudges, they’re using increasingly sophisticated strategies to influence our behaviors and shape our purchasing decisions. From hidden fees to tiny fonts, it’s becoming uncannily easy to spend more than we intended. Here’s a look at some of the sneakiest and most outrageous ways brands are fooling us as consumers.
Unconventional Methods Companies Use To Get Unsuspecting Customers To Spend More Than They Should
Many brands have become masters of manipulation and have devised various strategies to get unsuspecting customers to purchase more than they intended. While most companies rely on traditional marketing tactics such as discounts, sales, and attractive visuals, other companies use some unconventional methods to encourage customers to spend more. From complicated pricing models to sneaky upsells, these brands are getting crafty when it comes to the art of persuasion. Here are some of the ridiculous and sneaky ways brands are fooling consumers.
