Fraud under the guise of discounts, or the main fear of online buyers

If you're an online store owner, you know the importance of offering discounts to your customers. After all, it's a great way to increase sales, drive traffic to your site, convert browsers into buyers and make customers feel like they're getting a good deal. But did you know that there are some people who take advantage of discounts to commit fraud? And, if you're not careful enough, your discounts may end up causing more harm than good by raising fraud suspicions among buyers.

In this post, we'll discuss some tips to avoid fraud suspicion when offering discounts on your website. Stay safe and enjoy increased sales!

Types of fraudulent discounts

Dishonest sellers rely on the lack of attention from buyers in order to offer them fraudulent discounts and thereby "push" them into making a purchase. The most common scams in e-commerce are:

  • Cross out the "previous" price with a distinctive color, which is supposedly considered as a discount. The seller either leaves the previous value or raises the cost of the product. It is designed for inattentive or new customers who have not gotten acquainted with the actual price range for this type of goods.
  • Providing a big fake discount on a specific product or even a group of products. Just imagine, a seller makes advertisements about the discount on social media and sends this information to the customers by email, etc. But when a client visits an online store, it turns out that the promotional product "has ended" or the discounts have disappeared. In this case, the sellers are pursuing an unfair plan: to lure the visitor to the site and hope he'll pick another product in stock at full price.
  • Sell perishable products without warnings that the product is running out of shelf life. Instead, dishonest online stores may offer a significant discount to sell the product as soon as possible.
  • Or sell defective goods and at the same time, the cost of those products can be much higher than it should be, or there should be a discount, considering the product's non-conformity. Such sellers hope that their customers will experience the malfunction after a certain period of time when the return period expires. Unfortunately, this method has become too common.
  • One more way to trick the buyer is to change the price before the checkout. The discount for a product can automatically change upwards once the user enters the necessary bank card details to pay in the online store. Also, a change in cost can occur after adding the product to the basket. When making a wholesale purchase, many online store customers could be oblivious to the fact that one or two items might have a higher price.

How to offer discounts without deceiving customers?

Conscientious and responsible sellers face an essential task: not to mislead their customers while offering discounts and not to be at a loss. There are several proven tactics that many online stores actively use, willing to be honest with their customers:

  • A profitable practice is to provide reusable promotions with small but pleasant discounts instead of one-time discount coupons. It invites your buyer to make repeated purchases, returning to your site again and again. On the one hand, the product price will be lower, but on the other hand, the number of goods purchased by the same customer will grow and help increase your profit!
  • Furthermore, the more products from your store will be in use, the greater the likelihood of word of mouth. This way, both the buyer and the seller will have a positive shopping experience.

    • The Sale Category PRO module can help you to arrange frequent discounts for different products. One of the module's main advantages is its ease of use. Why should you spend too much time on manual work by adding and removing special prices one by one? Our module works clearly and correctly like a Swiss watch! Make as many discounts as possible and repeat them as often as you like. Sale Category PRO will ensure that all products automatically change the promotional price in time and exclude out-of-stock products.
    Sale Category PRO extension with features
  • Use cross-sell and up-sell opportunities in combination with discounts. For example, offer just one discounted product and at the same time actively show similar products with better features but without the discount. Or offer up-sell products at a regular price. For example, with a discounted women's jacket, you can provide a matching brooch that is hard to refuse. In this way, you will be able to increase the turnover for the duration of the discounts.
  • You can sell the previous collection at a discount, but indicating that it is indeed an old collection is a must-have. Thus, you can get rid of the old products, and, at the same time, the client will appreciate your honesty.
  • If the product is about to expire, you should also indicate this information in a conspicuous place along with the discount price. The correct information submission is significant detail. Play around with slogans like "If you're planning a picnic this weekend, we've got good news for you!". By using the Sale Category PRO module for Magento 2, products added to the special price category will be removed from the sale after the discount expires. It will help to avoid any unnecessary and even dangerous mistakes.
  • It also applies to defective products, if your store provides such a category. Though defective goods is a very narrow industry, mainly related to second-hand, pawn shops or others, still it's vital to be respectful to the client. Describe everything in detail or, if possible, make a photo of the defect.

By following these tips, you can offer discounts to your customers without raising any red flags. Keep in mind that even if you take all of the necessary precautions, some customers may still be suspicious of discount offers. If this is the case, try not to take it personally; just continue offering great products and services and they may come around in time. Thanks for reading!