Try this cost-saving tip, next time you're about to buy online. Does it work in AU?

IVI on 10/08/2014 - 09:20
Last edited 10/08/2014 - 09:43

So, while evaluating a training course on -making- eCommerce web sites, I heard the speaker/trainer give the following tip to buyers:

If the eCommerce web site is using some of the tracking features discussed in the course (eg, some from Google Ad Words, etc.), some/many companies may notice when a site visitor:

  1. adds something to their shopping cart, but
  2. does not buy it [before leaving the site]

He suggested that such sites are often programmed to offer discounts, ie, to customers who've been noticed to have done so.

PS I've earlier heard that some Asian sites have been observed to offer discounts in a similar way, eg, soon after they notice someone reading product details for a while, or looking at similar products.

Please share your similar experiences, below, & tell us which sites seem to be doing this kind of discounting.

PS Amazon was once pinged for doing the opposite: Varying prices - up & down - within the same hour… so, your price seemed to determined as if by chance. Not popular, unless you "won" a low price.

Of course, we know of sites (eg, tMart or VPN.sh) who raise prices, after a set number buy at discounted prices or increment up the price each day, to encourage quicker buying. More popular, IMO.

General Discussion

Comments

  • wittyusername on 10/08/2014 - 09:29
    +1

    I've had it work once when I was in the UK buying from a UK shop. I added the item to cart, then filled out all my details, then was too stingy to go through with it so left the site. Got an email saying use this code for 10% off. Still didn't buy it.

  • juventino on 10/08/2014 - 09:45

    I've encountered a lot of this in USA's online store.

    Not in Australia. We're still in the phase of part visible, part secret discount code.

    • iseenya on 10/08/2014 - 10:39
      +1

      I've had the experience with OnlyOnline (oo.com.au), of abandoning a shopping cart and subsequently getting an email offering to waive the freight cost, so the practice isn't unknown here.

  • spychiatrist on 10/08/2014 - 09:48

    So that's why my Amazon cart keeps on fluctuating. I thought it was the exchange rate. No discounts offered though even though the items are in the cart for more than a month now

    • c64 on 10/08/2014 - 12:33
      +1

      i remember that many years ago (not still sure what if they do nowadays) amazon used cookies to charge existing customers more than new customers

  • Chickenleg on 10/08/2014 - 12:42

    Good tip. I do recall this happening a few times - Jackthreads.com for men's clothes was one. Think I received an email with a 10% discount code one time after I was trying to figure out if I actually wanted what was in my cart.

  • CyberMurning on 10/08/2014 - 12:44

    works with startfitness.co.uk but i got similar discount 10% code anyway and they dont stack

  • dp1 on 11/08/2014 - 09:09

    I have had 2 items in my Amazon uk cart for a month or so, in that time one has gone up by £1 and the other down by £1.

  • johninmelb on 11/08/2014 - 10:00
    +1

    I have found that it pays to clear your cookies each time you look at an airline site. Couldn't work out why the price had changed when, after looking at other sites, I went back to the site that was the cheapest. My cheap airfare had disappeared. A friend in IT explained to me one day how they use cookies!

    And - before anyone jumps in with smartarse comments - YES, I know airline inventory changes rapidly, so there could well be a logical explanation as to why the price changed, all seats at the cheap price were sold while I checked other airlines.

    Godaddy appear to do the same thing. Check out the price of a domain name. If they offer you a dirt cheap price, but you don't buy it, the price goes up next time you look, 'cos they know you are interested in it.

  • 8200 on 15/08/2014 - 19:07

    I just purchased a Citizen watch, I asked them for a 5% discount and they said yes

    Also I find it cheaper to check to see if on ebay its sold by the same seller in USA, you can pay by PayPal [even at a crap exchange rate they charge] and it works out less than at the price they have listed in AUS$

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