To escalate food services, aggregators introduced the idea of a food app. However, with time, it seems to have suppressed the desire to hang out and enjoy a meal with family and friends. Deep discount and offers along with the food delivery are prime reasons for making users lethargic.

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It was only after August 15, when 1,600 odd restaurants pull out from food aggregators such as Zomato, Swiggy, Dineout, et al, the need to understand the role of these food apps as a middle person between the customers and the restaurants is realised.

Many of the restaurant owners have complained that these services disregarded the much-needed customer loyalty towards the eateries. However, the question raised is how these tech-driven food services induce impulsive buying?

Here are the factors affecting the psychology of users:

Colour scheme

Bright colours are often used by designers while creating templates and logos. “To make a logo catchy and easy to remember, it can’t be dull, especially when you are working in the food sector. The colours help facilitate interest in food and result in increased appetite. There is even research which explains the influence of colours on our moods,” renowned psychologist Dr Aruna Broota told CNBC-TV18.

“Bright colours are effective for brand names and logos. It not only just grabs attention but also throw volleys of stimulation through the visual route in the eye apparatus,” she says.

Big discounts and cashback

Do you prefer discount over quality while ordering a food item? These apps use lucrative ways to present great discounts and cashback offers. Schemes such as ‘no cooking August’ is one such. Besides, the frequently used 99model also promotes impulsive buying.

The 99model is an effective way to induce buying. It makes you believe that things are cheaper even if they are not, Dr Broota noted.

Such offers promote impulsive buying. This means, even if you are not planning to order a food item, on finding such discounts available, you will end up ordering one for you. Indubitably, marketing on point! But are the customers really being benefited?

Pictures

Mouthwatering dishes and lip-smacking drinks are presented with enticing offers to drag your attention. This might not increase your appetite but probably induce the urge to get that displayed food item right at your doorsteps.

“Food, when presented with bright colours along with discounted prices, fans the stressed and threatened ego of a person, and thus sells like hotcakes,” Dr Broota added.

Template

Food aggregators smartly design their templates to offer discounts, cost per person, trending places, expected delivery time and anything but information about the food. They also provide an option to rate the cuisine and delivery quality, maintaining which is quite a daunting task for both the restaurant and the delivery person.

Notifications

Frequent popup notifications of discounts and offers ensure that you don’t skip any deal. To ensure their users stay active, they often notify them round the clock.

Dr Broota observed that shopaholics and immature personalities are prone to such offers. As a result, they will end up buying ten times more than they were supposed to. It totally depends on how excitatory and impulsive you are.

In a nutshell, aggregators are making money at the cost of the much-needed loyalty. Now, it’s all up to the consumers how they act on their part.