Psychology of Steam's Sale

Everywhere we go, we encounter different forms of influence and persuasion. Whether it be in real life or on the internet, we can't deny that our decisions are governed by the things we see around us. One area that tends to influence our thoughts and actions the most is media. The media publishes thousands of articles on the internet pertaining to varying aspects of psychological persuasion. Many of which use headlines describing the results of new studies and the implications they have on the way we live our lives. How accurate is this information? This is a question that many readers should ask themselves before delving into whatever information they decide to see on the internet. The accuracy of reporting is what's truly important here and readers should learn to think critically on this.

The article being reviewed in this paper was found on the Psychology Today website and is titled "Some of the Psychology Behind Steam's Summer Sale". The article itself examines a number of social influences that "hook" an individual to the Steam Summer Sale. The author's main argument here is that many of the digital discounts offered by Steam are set in a way that causes people to make more purchases than intended (Madigan 2013). Steam is an internet-based gaming software that distributes digital games and services related to them for a price. Its basically an online gaming store. Throughout the year, Steam has enormous sale events where it offers games at massive discounts. One of the most popular sales they have is called the Steam Summer Sale, and as the name suggests, is only available for a limited time during the summer. Madigan (2013) makes it clear that he loves these types of events and gets a lot out of them. However, he also states that a little extra knowledge on how these events work can help someone approach them on more even terms. This paper will attempt to determine whether or not Steam's unique sale structure can influence a buyer's decision on the things they purchase through different social influences such as scarcity, commitment, and consistency.

Scarcity is the first important social influence tactic that this article touches upon in relation to Steam's Summer Sale. In Cialdini's (2009) book, the tactic of scarcity is examined to great extent. Cialdini explains that opportunities and products are seen as more valuable when they are less available. In addition, there are two techniques at play here. These are the "limited-number" technique and the "deadline technique". For example, the Steam Summer Sale only discounts a select number of games for a limited amount of time. Each of these games also feature a prominent countdown indicating when they'll become unavailable. This tactic can severely influence an individual's decision on how many games they decide to buy. Cialdini gives an example of his own and references an experimental survey done by West (1975) which found that items and opportunities become more desirable when they become less available. When discounts are offered for limited times, people tend to become more attached to things. This creates an unstable situation and causes someone to spend more money than they should. In regard to the Steam Summer Sale, people buy their discounted games mainly because they have no idea if they'll ever go on sale again. In their mind, its often better to buy something at that moment's notice than lose their shot at a good deal.

Commitment and consistency is the second most important social influence tactic that's mentioned in this article. Cialdini (2009) concludes that once an individual makes a choice or takes a stand, they encounter personal and interpersonal pressure to behave consistently with that commitment. Furthermore, people don't like to appear inconsistent. For example, Steam has a feature that allows someone to add games that they want to buy to a wish list. Steam will e-mail that person once a game on their list goes on sale. Madigan (2013) states that a commitment is being called in when he receives this type of notification. People like to commit to the things they've already set out to do. An individual's wish list on Steam is available for multiple people to see. This can cause someone to purchase a game on their list simply because their friends know that they planned to buy it. Cialdini (2009) goes on to share a story about a trip that he and a professor of logistics took to a class on "transcendental meditation". In this class, the instructor teaches people how to float and walk on walls. This was an obvious ruse to Cialdini and his friend, but many of the other people who attended that class proceeded to cough up large amounts of money for an additional advanced course. The reason for this was because they had already taken the time to attend the first class and thus firmly believed in what was being taught. Steam gives people the option to vote on Community Choice polls. By allowing their customers to actively involve themselves and vote on what game they want to win, Steam banks on a person's commitment to support the games they have strong feelings for. People take "mental possession" of these types of things and as a result, they become part of their self-concept.

Psychological reactance plays a major factor in all of this and is worth addressing. When do people start to experience the effects of scarcity? How young are they when they do? A study conducted in Virginia examined the behavior of two boys who both averaged 24 months of age (S. S. Brehm & Weintraub 1977). The study looked at the effects that a barrier has on young children. The experiment showed that children were more likely to want a toy if there was a tall enough barrier that restricted them from getting the toy. If the barrier was short enough that it did not restrict a child from obtaining the toy, the child would have little to no interest in it.