Pricing
Tactic

Apply Refunds Toward a Purchase

Customers feel less pain spending money from refunds because they feel like "free money."

Woman returning a product, and she's more likely to spend the money she receives back.

Overview

Money feels different when you receive it as a gift or prize. It doesn't feel like "real" money. It feels easier to spend.

This effect happens with refunds too (Lee & Morewedge, 2023).

When you receive money after returning a product, you feel tempted to spend this money because it bypasses the pain of paying.

Why It Works

You can blame mental accounting, popularized by Richard Thaler who won the Nobel prize in Economics.

If you buy a pair of jeans for $50, this purchase feels painful. But if you receive your money back, you categorize these funds differently:

Thought bubble in which a refund is separated from regular cash

The refund doesn't feel like "real" cash.

Plus, you felt pain when this money left your possession the first time. Any new purchase will be credited with this original pain.

Once the refund merges into your bank account, the effect disappears. With no invisible boundary to separate this refund, spending it feels painful again because this payment will be coming from your "real" money.

How to Apply It

  • Cross-Sell During Product Returns. Suggest other products that customers could buy when returning a product. These payments will feel less painful.
  • Apply Savings Toward a Purpose. Are you cheaper than competitors? Explain how customers could apply savings.
  • Control Your Spending. Now you'll know why it feels easier to spend money after getting refund. Modify your decisions accordingly.

  • Lee, C. Y., & Morewedge, C. K. (2023). Mental accounting of product returns. Journal of Consumer Psychology.