Life Kit - Don't fall for these marketing tactics this holiday season

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

We're surrounded by ads and sales pitches — in our inboxes, on our phones and when we walk down the street. And everyone loves a good deal, but what actually constitutes a deal? How do you know you're getting the best price or that what you're purchasing is of good quality? In this episode, we offer tips to help you make purchases you're happy with this holiday season.Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekitSign up for our newsletter here.Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at [e-mail] the show and listen to it sponsor-free by signing up for Life Kit+ at plus.npr.org/lifekitLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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You know what I like to do as a fun holiday season activity? Open the promotions tab on my email. I did this recently with Brian Vines. He's a reporter at Consumer Reports, a nonprofit that does product testing, consumer research, and journalism. Is it scary in there? It's so scary. Before I even started reading the subject lines of the many marketing emails that I apparently signed up for, he was like, oh, I know what they're going to say. Well, they say, buy now, extra 20% off, factory sale.

Last chance. Last chance. Last chance. Lies. Leave the last chance to Donna Summer. There's never been a last chance since Donna Summer recorded that record. Here's another one. Your exclusive 20% off starts now. Exclusive to me because I'm special. Well, it starts right now. And it starts now. I think my favorite was PSA. Our 72-hour clearout is on PSA, public service announcement. and pointed out. Service to whom and what? I like this as an exercise because the ads are all concentrated in one place.

But we all know you don't have to wade through your emails to be the target of a sales pitch, especially not this time of year. Just walk or ride down the street. Turn on your phone or your TV. Open up your browser. They're everywhere. They being marketers and retailers. They see you when you're sleeping.

They know when you're awake, et cetera, et cetera. And look, I'm not telling you to lock your. your wallet and your phone in a safe this holiday season and to spend zero money, but I would like for you to make purchases that you're happy with and that keep the most money in your pocket or your bank account as possible. So on this episode of Life Kit, we've got your guide to getting a deal this holiday season. We'll talk about the techniques that marketers use to grab our attention and how you can insulate yourself against them and make sure that if you think you're getting a deal, you actually are.

So, buy now. Last Chance. Rush, rush, rush. All of these are action words that propel you towards putting things into carts that you might not have use for. We see this in the language that retailers use, and also in the way they structure sales. Brian says, think about Amazon Lightning Deals, for instance. To him, they feel like the old blue light specials at Kmart. Where, hey, attention Kmart Sharp is if you run the aisle three right. now, you can get this item for 20% less. I'm aging myself. But this is what the flash deal promises.

It's like, at this moment, you get there, you put it in your cart, and you go, or it's going to evaporate. He says retailers love it when you feel that urgency. They don't want you to think too hard about the purchase. Lindsay Weeks is the editor-in-chief at Brad's Deals, a free website and app that curates coupons and deals from online retailers. And she says retailers are relying on your fear of missing out. And so it's trying to get us to say, if you don't purchase this right now, you'll never get this deal again. And so you're like, oh my gosh, I've got to get that deal.

So takeaway one, anytime you're shopping or browsing, or you didn't even think you were shopping, but now you're considering a purchase, ask yourself, am I feeling a sense of urgency right now? And is there actually any urgency? What would happen if I waited? Don't fall for that false sense that you're going to miss. miss out because they make things 24 hours a day and you will not miss the boat. Lindsay says maybe take a day. Say, I'm going to sleep on this. Or anything over $50 or $100. I'm going to take 24 hours before I make my decision.

That will also tell you if it's that fear of missing out on a deal or the deal that's really causing you to want to purchase. Linda Myers in California, who emailed us in response to a call out on this topic, takes this idea even further. She sent us this voice memo. If there's something I want and it costs more than $20, I don't buy it immediately. I'll wait a few hours. And then I check to be sure if I can return it.

If I have to pay to return it, I think carefully about whether it's worth it to me to take that chance. And then I consider the shipping charges, if there are any. And then if I'm still interested after all that, I'll probably buy it. Linda, a shopping queen. Okay, so while you pause, you want to ask yourself some questions. Do I need this thing? Do I actually want this thing?

If it's a gift, do I actually think the recipient will want this thing? If the answer to those questions is no, then this is not a deal. Do not buy it. If you're shopping online, one thing you could try is putting the item in your cart and then waiting. And sometimes you'll often get. from assorted retailers, oh, we see you've been eyeing this or it's in your cart. That thing is now 15% off. And at that point, if you do want the item, you can decide if the price is a deal for you.

Speaking of price, another strategy retailers love is called price anchoring. I like to call it, hey, don't look at that. Look over here. Price anchoring is when a retailer uses a comparison price, the anchor, to make you think the product is higher value and make you want to it more. So, for example, you have a pair of sneakers. It says originally $200, marked down to 100 on sale now for 20. That $200 is what we call a price anchor. And it basically makes people fixate on that price versus fixating on the sale price. But Lindsay says a lot of the time that original price was never the original price, or it hasn't been the price for a long time.

It's just something that stores will use to say, oh, look at what a big discount you're getting. Another pricing strategy that retailers use is to raise the base price of an item just before the busy season, but then tell you, oh, it's 40% off now. Sure, 40% off of a higher price, and it turns out to cost the same as it did last week, or maybe even more. So takeaway two, focus on the actual price of an item. These sneakers cost 20 bucks. That's all you have to grapple with. And now it's time to figure out for yourself whether you consider that price a deal. It helps to do some comparisons of your own.

There are websites, apps, and browser extensions that will help you compare the price of a particular product across stores and across time. Sometimes they also offer coupon codes. I've had varying success with these. A lot of the time they don't work. Keep in mind to use these sites, you might have to sign up for a free ad-supported account and to give these companies permission to use your shopping and browsing data and to send you emails. A simpler way to do price comparisons is a quick internet search. see if a product is cheaper at another retailer or at a secondhand site.

This is a great option for clothing. You can even find the same pair of jeans new with tags on for a fraction of the price when you buy secondhand. Also, if you're shopping in a store, see if you can find a better price on your phone at another store across town. Then, Brian says, talk to a sales associate, ask them to match that competitor's price. You have not because you ask not. So always go with a smile, pack your patience, and a good disposition. because people who are working in these stores also understand that we're all in the position right now, where any savings means something. Here's some other questions to ask yourself when you're considering a purchase.

Am I only buying this because it seems like a really good sale? Another way of getting at this is, have I ever thought about buying this thing before? Did I know this thing existed before I walked into the store? And would I consider buying it if it was full price? All right, we'll be back with more life kit. Promise me you won't do any online shopping during the break. Okay, our next strategy might sound a little obvious, but it is truly the basis of all marketing.

Marketers sell you a fantasy. The idea of that picture-perfect holiday dinner where everybody's connecting and nobody's fighting or the vision of you as your sexiest, most confident, most put-together self. the one who gets their shopping done early for the holidays. These all play to your aspirational. I've got stuff together side.

Our sense of accomplishment and just how good we are at loving the people around us based on the amount of things that we're able to gather and put in our carts. So takeaway three, here's how you can know marketing is working on you. If you find yourself pulling out your cash or typing in your credit card info and longing for something or fantasizing about some idealized version of yourself or your family, or feeling emotions like guilt, lust, nostalgia, sadness, loneliness. When this happens, again, you want to pause. And remember that you do not have to spend money on this particular thing.

That doesn't mean you don't get your family any gifts for the holidays. But it doesn't have to be this item, and you can get creative. Find a treasure that they'll love at a secondhand store. Bake them their favorite cookies. Plan a group dinner or a family hike. Okay, so we've gone through some of the strategies retailers use to get you to throw down your money. I'd like to devote the rest of our time to arming you with your own strategies. Takeaway four, when it's time to buy, be strategic.

Try some of these shopping tips to find deals. One shopping strategy is to plan ahead. If you know that the next year you're going to need new boots or a new winter coat, Lindsay says look for them at the end of the season. A lot of times the sales are tied to retail inventory cycles, so these are when stores need to clear out their space and not necessarily when they just want people to click. So that's a lot of times you can get really big sales. She says if you want to time this out, consider the weather and what you're doing in your own closet. If you're about ready to pack it away in your own house, it's probably when you want to start looking for it on sale in a store. If you're shopping for electronics, like a phone or a pair of headphones, wait until the new version comes out.

You can always get big discounts on last year's version or two versions ago. Our next tip is to consider derivative models around Black Friday. Brian says manufacturers will often create products exclusively for this season. The derivative models might have fewer features than the ones that you would buy at a regular price throughout the rest of the year. So in November, they can give you that super door buster deal on this name brand television from a reputable, highly rated manufacturer, but it might not have as many HDMI inputs. The remote control might be a little more simplified, or the resolution on certain things or the number of apps that are already embedded inside could be lower because at this price, this is the best that we can do. This cheaper version of the TV might actually be a good fit for you, depending on what features you want. The key is to know what you're getting.

For some of us, that simplified remote is a blessing. Like, I don't know what I'm looking at with all these damn buttons. Or the fact that I don't need 20 HDMIs. If I want to plug my Roku, my fire stick, my Apple TV, into the side, I don't need to have a bunch of different inputs. A few other tips from Lindsay. Unfortunately, items that are sold in the girls or women's section of a store will often be marked up compared to similar or the same items sold in the boys or men's department. That's actually called the pink tax. And they do mark up, you know, think of razors.

A pink razor might be a little bit more expensive when it's the exact same thing, but it's pink, not blue or green. I noticed this one's at a sporting good store with an anti-chafe stick that you can rub on your ankles or other body parts. The blue one was a couple bucks cheaper. So I got the blue one. It's my favorite color anyway. Another tip, Lindsay shared, applies to shoe shopping. If your feet are on the smaller side. You can buy the child versions or child sizes in a lot of shoes. And you can save sometimes like between $40 and $80 by just buying the child version versus the adult version.

So that's another good way to save if, you know, if it is something that isn't typically going to go on sale. And then before you make a purchase, find out, What is this retailer's policy on price matching and price adjustments? Price matching is when a retailer will match a competitor's price for the same product. Brian talked about this earlier. Price adjustments are when a retailer matches its own price over time. Say you bought a pair of headphones for 160 bucks and the price dips to 120 the next week. Some retailers will say, yeah, come back to us within 30 days and we'll refund you the difference.

So shop around. If you can find the same item at different places and one has a better price adjustment policy, that's a good reason to buy it there. All right, we thought it would be nice to end this episode with a little poem. Genevieve Franklin in California sent us this voice memo that describes her shopping ethos. Stop the shop. Shop your closet, every drawer. Shop your pantry and yet more. Shop your bookshelves and garage.

Hello, best self. Bye, Carpage. Okay, time for a recap. Takeaway one. Anytime you're shopping or browsing, ask yourself, am I feeling a sense of urgency right now? And is there actually any urgency? Takeaway two, focus on the actual price of an item

and figure out for yourself whether you consider that price a deal. Takeaway three, if you find yourself pulling out your cash or typing in your credit card info and longing for something, fantasizing about some idealized version of yourself or your family, or feeling heavy emotions. Pause. Takeaway four, when it's time to buy, be strategic. Look for deals at the end of a season or when the newest version of something comes out. Consider derivative models that are made for the holiday season, but also know what you're getting. Look in the boys or men's department to see if an item is cheaper. See if you fit into the kid's size of the same shoe. It'll often be less expensive.

and buy things from retailers with strong price adjustment policies. And that's our show. By the way, has a Life Kit episode ever sparked a new habit for you or changed your life? If so, why not tell a friend about our show? Share an episode you think they might like. It would mean the world to us. This episode of Life Kit was produced by Claire Marie Schneider. Our visuals editor is Beck Harlan and our digital editor is Malika Gereeb.

Megan Cain is our senior supervising editor, and Beth Donovan is our executive producer. Our production team also includes Andy Tagle, Margaret Serino, and Sylvie Douglas. Engineering support comes from Simon Laslow Jansen. Fact-checking by Candace Court Camp. I'm Mariel Segarra. Thanks for listening.