6 Ways Sam’s Club Gets You to Spend More Money Than You Planned

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Members can save money at Sam’s Club, but the company also makes it easier to open your wallet for impulse purchases. Read on to find out how the company does it. 

Sam’s Club is a favorite among frugal shoppers, but that doesn’t mean the discount warehouse club isn’t on the lookout for ways to get shoppers to spend more money.

Some of its strategies are similar to what other retail stores do to encourage more spending, while others — like the company’s growing list of available services — are more unique to discount warehouse clubs.

Here are six clever ways Sam’s Club gets you to dig a little deeper into your wallet.

1. Rotating product availability

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, is alive and well in the retail space. Sam’s Club offers a constantly rotating selection of inventory that makes each visit feel different than the last. Seeing new items is exciting and can make you feel as if you’ll miss out on a purchase if you wait to buy it.

Seasonal items are particularly enticing because many people space out their Sam’s Club trips, which means you really might miss out on the latest seasonal items if you don’t scoop them up on your next trip. Research backs up this idea, too, with 62% of people reporting feeling good after making an impulse purchase, according to a survey by SlickDeals.

2. Discounts on expensive items

Just as seasonal items convince buyers to spend more, Sam’s Club offers limited-time discounts on expensive items that persuade shoppers to buy. For example, let’s say you go to Sam’s Club twice a month, and see a $100 discount on a $600 vacuum.

If you’re interested in owning a new vacuum, then the $100 discount may convince you that you need to buy that vacuum now. Maybe you really needed the vacuum, and maybe you didn’t, but either way, you walked out of the store spending $500 more than you planned to.

The American Marketing Association says coupons and other discounts can entice consumers to spend more than planned. “The common intuition is that larger discounts lead to an increase in the mental budget and therefore higher spending levels,” the association says on its website.

3. Bulk purchases

Buying in bulk makes a lot of sense for large families, businesses, or when hosting a big party. But the fact that Sam’s Club customers have to buy in bulk means that, at least for some items, you’re buying more than you need and spending more, too.

There’s a large jug of garlic in my fridge that came from a discount warehouse club. It’s probably 20 times more garlic than I need, and I can’t help but think that I overspent every time I see it.

4. Easy purchases with technology

Sam’s Club Scan & Go app makes it easy for in-store shoppers to scan and pay for items. And while it’s a way to make shopping more convenient for members, it’s also a way to encourage more spending.

For example, you can use the Scan & Go app to buy big, expensive items like TVs and have them shipped directly to your home. While convenient, it also removes a barrier that used to keep some people from making a bulky purchase at the store. For some customers, the temptation to buy expensive items through the app could derail some of their personal finance plans.

5. Free samples

Free food samples are a trademark of discount membership clubs. While delicious, those samples aim to get you to try out a new product and buy it that day.

And the research suggests that samples are very effective. The online e-commerce platform company Shopify referenced a Cornell University study that found that customers who enjoyed a wine tasting at a winery were 93% more likely to spend an extra $10 at the winery.

6. Additional services

Sam’s Club isn’t just a convenient place to buy groceries; you can also use your membership for a wide variety of services, including buying glasses and hearing aids, booking a vacation, buying tires, printing photos, and getting your pharmacy prescriptions filled. The company even has its own credit cards.

Having all of these services located in the same place makes it much easier to spend more money at Sam’s Club, even if it’s just a few extra dollars to print a few photos.

While plenty of people use their Sam’s Club membership to save money, it’s always a good idea to keep your budget in mind when shopping. Sticking to a strict budget — and even using a budgeting app to track spending — can be a great way to ensure you’re not overspending on your next trip to Sam’s Club.

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