Of course I don’t for a second believe these ridiculous pop-ups that appear when you are browsing items in some online stores! However, they do seem to be proliferating.
Look at the same item a few mins later and often exactly the same number of people are supposedly still viewing it. Yea right!
A variation on this that recently started is on petition pages where after you sign, a new page with a scrolling list of names and amounts donated appears. Either a whole lot of people are donating odd amounts, or it is just more marketing BS, IMHO.
What are the chances this is just a variation on the ‘people viewing now’ … I guess I’ll call it … scam?
I agree, I don’t believe a word of it … The phrase “marketing spin” is the tautological definition … where “marketing” is a synonym for “lies” but maybe I’m cynical …
I was looking at booking accommodation on line recently, and noticed the same schmaltz about people looking at the very same place I was looking at. I too ignored it.
I believe it’s about trying to create a sense of urgency so you stop thinking and stampede you into buying.
I’ve come across this too. As we are on satellite NBN our “location” changes between Sydney and Melbourne. I note, on the few sites we used, that when Google detects us as Sydney, we get sales data or offers mostly for there. When Melbourne, they are mostly for there. I guess it creates a trust (my locals shop there …) and a sense of urgency, and exposure to products you were not looking for for impulse buys.
This is in addition to the usual google ads for retirement homes, hearing aid trials etc for Sydney / Melbourne suburbs that litter my crossword and forum sites.
I regard it as a variation on the “people who bought (what you’re looking at) also bought …” with a list of products. I don’t regard either as trustworthy.
I really do wonder who gets sucked in by this artificial sense of urgency, impulse buying and FOMO. I guess plenty must though, as it seems to be increasing, and I suppose it wouldn’t be if it didn’t work.
It’s hard to avoid, those emotional connections, EG FOMO if that is how you are wired. Marketing 101!
We don’t all respond to these types of emotions in the same way?
Alternately the response intended from others may be to reinforce a positive decision. One that you are about to book somewhere or buy a product everyone else wants now.
Cynics amongst us might totally ignore the added value of the pop-ups, only to miss out?
The more analytical, might like Dustin Hoffman in ‘The Rainmain’ rationally eliminate all options due to the uncertainty of the outcome?
It’s likely the annoyances of these marketing tactics will continue, short of a legislated change to ban them?
Assuming that they are able to be shown to be broadly misleading and factually incomplete.
Such a view might preclude all advertising, reducing product promotion to a single pack shot, list of the ingredients, primary use of purpose, and a list of where to purchase it.
Some accommodation website state things like ‘this hotel booked 15 times in the last 24 hours’ or airline booking sites saying ‘only three seats left’ on a particular flight when one is chasing 3 seats.
I take these down to marketing ploys trying to pressure sell…or exploiting FOMO, the ‘fear of missing out’.
I have noticed that the dodgy accommodation booking sites regularly use the ploy that there are only a few rooms available at a particular venue but visiting the venue’s own online booking site shows ample rooms available.
I last saw this last December when we drove to the Sunshine Coast hinterland and back and looked at options for accommodation in Charters Towers, Capella and Emerald.
We stayed at Dooley’s Tavern & Motel both when driving to the Sunshine Coast and when returning home.
I just looked at accommodation in Capella on TripAdvisor and Booking.com is running a scam for Dooley’s claiming that they have a red hot special for only $100 and that it is in "high demand”.
Dooley’s own website lists the only rooms booked out between 19.02.2019 and 04.03.2019 are the Family Rooms on the 22.02.2019 & 23.02.2019 only.
but maybe I’m cynical …
