Current Events 2

FOMO Helps During Black Friday

  

  Black Friday is the week of highest discounts in both online and offline shops all over the world, which annually takes place after Thanksgiving Day - when the holiday season begins. This is an excellent example for understanding how Fear of Missing Out works. Earlier in this blog we looked at FOMO from the point of view of ordinary people who are experiencing it. In this part, another side of the coin is being emphasised. While FOMO victims are suffering and trying to deal with the problem, business companies are learning to take advantage of the situation. Playing with their customers' feelings is one of the most effective ways to earn a greater benefit for them. First of all, by using powerful words as "last chance", "Only...", "Exclusive", "Limited", promoters increase viewers attention to their brands. This creates a sense of urgency and encourages visitors to act fast without having the time to think sensibly. Passion to buy something during Black Friday appears exactly because of the time limits. People are getting afraid of the possible loss of opportunity to make the purchase after the end of sales. Countdown timers are everywhere, and e-mails are filled with exclusive offers "specially for you". As a matter of fact, all of these strategies work! People truly enjoy feeling unique and selected and easily get fooled by advertisers every November. Furthermore, sellers are expressly including pleasant reviews on their websites for other people to feel as if they are missing out and "rectify" the situation. It will continue forever, because human psychology cannot be changed. Some of us completely understand that Black Friday sales is just a marketing ploy, but still are unable to keep control and succumb, ending up broke owing to spending money on dispensable stuff.