Trickery

There is an article about how retailers are "tricking" consumers into spending more.

The points mentioned:
-Distributing gift cards to customers who spend a certain dollar amount in their stores.
-Free shipping offers.
-Free shipping to a nearby store.
-Packaged deals.
-[Designing] their stores so that shoppers first have to walk through more expensive sections.
-Offering discounts for those who spend a certain amount of money in one visit.

The consumer is always a victim, isn't it? Having worked in retail, I absolutely loathe the "the customer is always right" attitude, and I'm sick of people being all butt-hurt because companies are supposedly taking advantage of them.

I mean, seriously, how is any of the above a "trick"? Sure, they are strategies to generate more income, but what part of them is deceiving? I mean, if your willpower is so weak that you can't walk through the expensive section of the store without being able to resist picking up things that you didn't plan on buying, then quite frankly, you have other problems you need to worry about. Does this mean you will cheat on your wife if presented with a line of twenty-somethings? Does this mean if you pass by a Mercedes dealer on the way to buying a Toyota Corolla, you will end up with an S-Class instead?

Should retailers not offer free shipping? For instance, Amazon.com has free shipping year-round if you buy $25 or more. Should they get rid of that option so you have to pay $5.95 ground shipping every time you order something? What if I'm buying an item that is $24.99? Wouldn't it be cheaper for me to tack on something really cheap? Isn't ending the price in ".99" a devious tactic to you feeble minded consumer advocacy groups?

Isn't a sale of any sort designed to get you to spend more money? Or at least, to get more people to spend money? Retailers have a job--to make money. It is their social responsibility to make money; otherwise who is going to pay the workforce? Haven't we seen enough of the grief that pops up when a retailer goes out of business because, surprise, it's not making enough money? Would you rather have higher prices and no deals, ever?