The dark side of marketing programs.

Most people, including me, enjoy getting a good deal, like a discount or something extra for free, which is provided by loyalty programs, club memberships, and other marketing programs. Not many people have considered the price that those extra things cost. I prefer to stay away from most of those programs and want to share my reasoning for this decision.

These programs mostly pursue one of two goals. The first one is influencing consumer decisions, e.g., where, when, or how much to buy. Searching for a coupon or discount before a purchase is smart and can save a few bucks, but most of the time, new deals are sent at the wrong time and lead to distractions. For example, you get an email or text message about a 20–30–50% discount for tickets, furniture, electronics, etc. In most cases, you have no need for those things, but loss aversion takes place, and you start to evaluate or even rationalize the purchase. This thinking process gets triggered almost automatically and switches your focus from a potentially important topic. The second type is collecting customer information, which usually comes from the usage of a tracking token that a consumer carries. Applying the token requires getting organized and planning ahead, as it can only be used at specific places, which unnecessarily complicates and lengthens the whole purchase process.

A few people can notice the total amount of distraction and cognitive load of marketing programs. The negative effect is spread over time, and evaluating the opportunity cost gets challenging. In other words, one can hardly notice the lost focus or opportunity to think about what really matters. Besides, those programs use data from behavioural psychology experiments, so it’s hard to say ‘No.’ This is the reason I always answer the frequently asked question: “Would you like to sign up for our loyalty program?” with a firm ‘No, thank you.’