The Psychology Behind Your Cart
Ten dollars for a t-shirt? Forty dollars for a padded jacket? Fifty dollars for a cute pair of shoes? Yup—sometimes fast fashion deals are just too good to resist. But that's exactly how these brands hook you in: by offering trendy pieces for a fraction of what higher-end stores charge. If you've ever wondered how fast fashion tricks you into overspending, we've got the inside scoop, along with 10 tips to help you resist the temptation and save your hard-earned cash.
1. Low Prices
They don't call it fast fashion for nothing, and one reason it's so accessible is because the prices are so low. For upscale brands, you might see a t-shirt ringing up $70 in your cart, but lower-tier brands allow you to buy the same shirt in seven different colors for the same price. Given how affordable the items are, you're naturally tempted to buy more.
2. Free Shipping Over Spend Minimum
If you're shopping online, you're probably often tempted to buy over a certain minimum just to get free shipping. This is another smart tactic that fast fashion companies use to trick you into spending more. After all, even if you only wanted one thing, you'll end up browsing and buying more items so they'll get delivered to you at no additional cost.
3. Free Gifts & Samples
It's not just the free shipping that tempts you, too. Sometimes, it's the promise of getting a mysterious "free gift" or "free samples" that makes you spend more than you initially expected to. Most of the time, these freebies aren't worth the extra spend, yet the tactic works (almost) every single time.
4. Influencer Hauls
Fast fashion brands usually seek popular influencers to collaborate with, meaning these influencers get treated to huge hauls (at little to no cost to them) that tempt their followers to buy the same items. Think about it, when was the last time you were convinced you needed a new pair of jeans just because you saw someone on social media gushing about them?
Maude Frédérique Lavoie on Unsplash
5. Constant New Drops & Trends
Fast fashion brands often drop new collections faster than you can blink. Plus, since trends are always changing, these brands know exactly how to pull in buyers by releasing clothes that are affordable and stylish, which keeps people coming back.
6. "Limited Time" Items
Slap on a "limited time" or "limited edition" tag on an item, and you'll see people reaching for it immediately. People love owning things that make them feel special, so getting their hands on something that not everyone can have makes the item more alluring. Fast fashion brands know this all too well.
7. Coupons & Vouchers
If you're part of a membership program, you'll likely see coupons and vouchers in your account—another way fast fashion brands trick you into spending more. After all, who can resist when a random 20% off coupon appears in your cart? This is also why you'll often be prompted to sign up for an account to receive "10% off your first purchase" or something similar.
8. Surprise Sales
Fast fashion brands don't just do sales for well-known holidays, like Black Friday and Boxing Day. Instead, these brands will arrange surprise sale events just for the sake of luring people in to buy their stuff. You might even see some brands that are perpetually on sale.
9. Bundling Deals
Fast fashion brands also love doing bundling deals, like buy one get one half off, buy two get one, or buy one get one free. These deals often seem too good to pass up, which is why many customers are tempted to buy more items, even if they didn't want them in the first place.
10. Constant Notifications
If you're signed up for SMS or email notifications or have an app downloaded, you'll likely be bombarded with messages telling you there's a sale "you can't miss." It's usually these alerts that spring customers into action and make them want to go on a shopping spree, even if they weren't thinking about it before.
How, then, can you resist the temptation and stop yourself from overspending on fast fashion? Here are 10 tips that might help:
1. Delete the Apps
The first thing you should do to resist the temptation of fast fashion is to delete the apps. As mentioned previously, the constant notifications these apps send out can make you want to buy stuff even if you weren't thinking of spending money, so getting rid of them (or at least turning off the notifications) can help.
2. Give It Some Thought
Instead of immediately checking out the items in your cart and entering your credit card info, give it some thought first. Sure, you might be tempted to buy it as soon as you see it, but two weeks later, you might have forgotten all about it. So, keep it on your wishlist, but don't pull the trigger right away.
3. Set a Budget
If you don't have one already, set a budget. Track your spending. Hold yourself accountable. You want to set a realistic limit, but one that also isn't too lenient, so you're not tempted to overspend. If you manage to stay under your budget for several months in a row, then you may think about rewarding yourself.
4. Quality, Not Quantity
You've probably heard this a lot, but it's worth repeating: choose quality over quantity. Sure, fast fashion brands offer similar styles and pieces to higher-end stores, but the quality usually doesn't hit the mark, meaning you'll only get limited uses out of the items. This might not be a big deal for simple basics, like t-shirts and tanks, but for outerwear, it's better to invest in higher-quality pieces.
5. Note When You Get Buyer's Remorse
Whenever you get hit with buyer's remorse, note it down. Ask yourself: what item did you buy that made you feel that way, and what can you do to prevent it from happening again in the future? Tracking your expenses and patterns like this may help you form better, healthier habits.
6. Organize Your Closet
Before you splurge on new clothes, sift through your closet first and organize your items. When you do so, you might find that you already own similar items (or maybe even better quality ones), which will stop you from checking out your cart.
7. Unfollow Influencers
If you find that you're often tempted to buy new clothes because of the influencers you follow, go ahead and unfollow or mute them, even if just temporarily. Plus, it's important to keep in mind that most of these influencers are being paid to say good things about the brand they're promoting, so their positive experience might not be the one you get.
8. Deinfluence Yourself
You can also try de-influencing yourself. An easy way to do so is to read reviews with lower ratings, such as one- or two-star reviews. This will help you get a gauge of what other customers didn't like, and what might affect you as well.
9. Check the Thrift Store
If you're looking for vintage items or basics, like t-shirts and sweaters, you might want to check out local thrift stores first, rather than spending your money on fast fashion. Chances are you'll find what you're looking for (and with more unique designs) when getting something secondhand.
10. Be Realistic
Fast fashion brands market smartly, and that's why they're so successful in getting customers to buy more from them constantly. Given that, it might be hard to resist the temptation initially, but as long as you go about it realistically, it'll be much easier. Instead of cutting off these brands cold turkey, understand your habits and spending limits, and adjust accordingly. Sometimes, you just don't want to spend $100 on jeans and would rather the $40 pair, and that's okay.
