Saving Money Now is Harder for Infomercial Junkies

The flashy infomercial

Money now is sparse and consumers are cutting back. Businesses know this, and in an effort to turn things around, they are using more aggressive tactics to spur people into buying. One age-old trick is putting together a flashy and interesting infomercial. Everyone has seen them - the infomercial is a half-hour TV commercial that exudes the best qualities and features of a product. Advertisers use a "live studio audience" to hype the product, along with an energetic pitchman to sell. He or she espouses the many virtues of the product and tells viewers how much more fulfilling their lives will be if they buy one, or even better, two!

Infomercial products to the test

Consumer Reports magazine did a survey of various infomercial products and questioned buyers about their performance. The "Slap Chop", a tool used to dice foods, does so unevenly. It isn't as seamless as it looked on TV. "The PedEgg", a pedicure device, works, but unlike the TV infomercial, it isn't a "self-cleaning" tool. Most consumers reported that it "left a mess." Overall, there were a few high-performing items, like "The Magic Jack", a voice over internet medium, but for the most part, infomercial items were a disappointment.

What to do about the flashy infomercial

When watching infomercials, there are some tips to avoid buyer's remorse. Here are some of them, as compiled by Consumer Reports.

•Think for ten minutes. Infomercials are high-paced and that's for good reason. The excitement of the host and audience increases viewers' dopamine levels. That causes them to buy more readily. It's that excitement that can be curbed by taking a few minutes to let the frenzy die down. Once it does, an impulse buy is less likely to occur. … click here to read the rest of the article titled “Saving Money Now is Harder for Infomercial Junkies“