Fast Food: The Psychology Behind Sales
Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind. It is the study of every and any subconscious or conscious action. Understanding psychology means understanding patterns within people, why they act the way they do and what drives them. Through psychology you can even plant ideas in someone’s mind, or influence their decisions altogether.
Fast food restaurants use psychological tricks to reach these outcomes. For example, Chipotle, the fast-casual restaurant renowned for its frequent BOGO deals, uses exactly that. BOGO deals, or Buy One Get One, are often seen as a limited time deal. This inspires a subconscious sense of obligation to purchase the product, according to Psychology Today.
This sense of obligation is then further developed by the belief that they should take advantage of said limited time offer to get an “incredible deal.” Although the BOGO deal seems like a good offer, in most cases, you’re buying more than what you originally planned for.
“I’d say I eat Chipotle two to three times a month. I really like their rice and I love their chicken, like the way that it’s made. It’s like the perfect amount of spice, it’s just so amazing, and I mean even the quality of their lettuce is like good. When there is a BOGO free deal, I just feel like I have to because I can get one free now and then eat the other later,” said sophomore Roselyn Villalonga.
This demonstrates the effect BOGO offers have on the subconscious thinking process of customers. Not only that, but Mohammad Iranmanesh, from the School of Business, University Sains Malaysia, conducted a scientific experiment on the effects of BOGO promotions. This study, done in Malaysia, concluded that out of 111 of the participants, 99 (89.19%) were satisfied with purchasing under the BOGO deal, 52 of those participants had repurchase intentions.
However, doing BOGOs isn’t the only way that companies increase their sales. For example, some companies like Chick-Fil-A rely on customer loyalty. Through the Chick-Fil-A app, customers can claim free meals such as nuggets, breakfasts, or desserts. However, to get offered these rewards, customers have to make frequent purchases and claim them before the expiration date.
By giving loyal, frequent, customers rewards, they are more likely to return.. This likelihood is only further increased by the fact that the free rewards have an expiration date. Since these rewards are completely free, customers are likely to return before they expire. But in most cases, customers don’t just stop at the freebie, as usually, a purchase follows.
“I go to Chick-Fil-A every single week, sometimes even three times a week. I use the Chick-Fil-A app a lot to order food to my studio. Although I don’t usually redeem the free items, but whenever I do redeem one, I always make sure to grab something else,” said freshman Yaritza Peña.
By giving free items, the zero-price-effect also comes into play. The zero-price-effect is essentially a psychological effect that seems to add to a good’s benefits. Free items are also more sought-after due to the fact that it bypasses an autonomous cost-benefit analysis. Simply put, since the item is free, there is nothing to lose, but there is something to gain.
Through these deals, businesses directly appeal to the subconscious mind of customers. The use of BOGO offers result in a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to take advantage of the deal before it ends. Meanwhile, the use of customer rewards builds customer loyalty and satisfaction, encouraging them to return. Both of these psychological strategies result in a higher margin of returning visitors, and in customers spending more than originally planned.
