going to the movies has become a pretty expensive affair from movie
tickets to concessions prices have
increased considerably and movie
theaters seem to do everything within
their power to make you part with your
cash here are 10 sneaky ways movie
theaters get you to spend more money
brands tie-ins to amp up food and drink
sales I will not bow to any sponsor if
you are a regular to the movies you know
that brand tie-ins are a regular
phenomenon from the latest animated film
to the most popular superhero franchise
you are guaranteed to be offered a
souvenir popcorn tub or soda cup at the
concession counter and most often these
souvenir items are priced slightly
higher than their regular counterparts
but who can resist eating popcorn out of
iron man's helmet or sipping on a soda
from a star wars bb-8 shaped cup a drink
cup with characters from disney's frozen
a souvenir Avengers popcorn bucket or
other such brand tie-ins are designed to
lure you into spend more money on
concessions what is that amazing smell
while the drink and popcorn served you
in these fancy containers are the same
movie theaters get to charge you extra
for the brand tie-in colorful and
attractively packaged these souvenir and
collectible items are irresistible to
children who want to take home a bit of
movie magic sure the kids will be happy
with their toys and souvenirs but it is
the movie theaters who ultimately
benefit from this money-making scheme
greed for lack of a better word is good
expensively priced regular items go
smothered in delicious yellow chemical
sludge the cinema going experience is
supposed to be a magical one you wait
and wait for your favorite movie to hit
the theaters then you line up early to
get tickets and the best seats and of
course spend some time at the concession
counter choosing your movie snacks but
did you know that each of these
interactions is
to get you to spend more and more money
at the movie theater when do you get to
that point of enough is enough
tickets are still somewhat affordable
but the concessions not so much and
concessions are where the movie theater
makes the bulk of their profits with
clever advertising strategic product
placements and the constant bombardment
of all of your senses with food and
drink promotion they make sure that you
buy as much as possible at the
concession counter one clever trick that
movie theaters employ is selling regular
items at a higher price sometimes the
cost is almost three times the regular
price from luxury cinemas to change
theaters like AMC to single screen
cinemas everyone is guilty of luring the
customers into spending more money on
food and drinks most about this country
attractive food and drink displays at
the concession counter when you go to
the movies have you ever noticed how
colorful brightly lit and inviting
everything is especially the exterior of
the movie theater this is to ensure that
you get attracted to buy a ticket and
step inside the next place where the
movie theater can get you to spend your
money is the concession counter in fact
this is the only place where they can
make the majority of their money since
they reportedly get to keep only 50% of
the ticket sales
sounds like a get rich quick scheme yes
thank you you will get rich quick we all
will the theater hallways are lit in a
regular manner with only movie posters
decorating the walls but not so for the
concession counter the box office is
plain and simple generally no frills at
all whereas the concession counter is
bright colorful and very attractive it
almost seems to give you the come-hither
look and call out to you with its
alluring displays movie theaters are
guilty of deliberately making the
concession counter look like something
out of a movie itself no one is able to
resist its charm and offers not unless
you have the willpower of a Jedi
with you always discounts and promotions
through loyalty programs movie theaters
are experts and making you come back to
the theaters by widely promoting their
loyalty programs that promise to deliver
more savings each time you spend a
dollar at the theater they even offer
discounts on concessions that make you
spend more than you intend to for
example as a loyal member of a
particular cinema chain you would be
offered a 10% discount on popcorn and
soda every time you purchase a movie
ticket or a free popcorn when you bring
in a friend with you additionally if
you've signed up for a nap they have
24/7 access to your phone and constantly
send you push notifications for food and
drinks which will further tempt you to
go to the movies promotions and deals
like via group deal apps like Groupon
LivingSocial etc are some other sneaky
tactics that movie theater is employ to
get you to spend more money oh you're
kind of snuck up on me then they
capitalize on movie-going culture and
traditions it's tradition knowingly or
unknowingly culture customs and
traditions play a big part in our lives
whether it's going trick-or-treating
with your kids on Halloween not wearing
white after Labor Day or buying flowers
and chocolates on Valentine's Day we do
these things without even giving them a
second thought just because it is the
dumb thing to do buying popcorn and soda
at the movies is just like a custom or
tradition it has become a part of the
movie-going experience to some it is an
abomination to even think of a movie
night without snacks and drinks they are
well aware of these customs and do
everything within their power to
capitalize on them a perfect example of
this capitalization technique is getting
you to buy a large box of candy at the
concession counter just think would you
normally eat a large box of candy in a
two hour period the average duration of
a movie but at a movie theater you
casually buy a large box without even
thinking twice why because eating large
amounts of candy has become a normal
thing to do thanks to years and years
of advertisements films and television
propaganda and we regularly fall prey to
this sneaky movie theater tactic
deception oh the delicious smells
dismiss we often associate a person
place or thing with a certain smells in
the case of a movie theater a vast
majority of people associate it with the
smell of freshly popped popcorn as you
think about it we're sure that you are
already imagining the delicious aroma of
buttery popcorn and factually speaking
it is an unavoidable smell so strong is
the pull of the aroma that without even
glimpsing the popcorn you know that you
want it the popcorn is so inexpensive to
make that the profit margins on popcorn
of any size are ridiculously high it is
undoubtedly the most popular and the
highest selling item at any concession
counter in the country while soda and
candy may not be very successful in the
smells Department they certainly do the
job in the visuals Department on the
whole movie theaters use every trick in
the book to make you part with your
hard-earned money at the concession
counter I couldn't resist the add on
food effect you must have some more when
you walk up to the concession counter at
the movie theater you experience a
sensory overload of sights and smells
all of which are designed to grab your
attention and entice you to shell out
more money to buy things that you
probably won't even be able to finish
you guide the large soda and popcorn but
if you reflect on it do you really think
that you were going to be able to finish
the entire large bucket of popcorn and
soda in a single sitting it's an unfair
game but what if you decided to have
just some popcorn and nothing else
well movie theaters have got you there
too they know it all too well that if
you eat a large tub of popcorn you are
probably going to get thirsty that's
good news for the theater because they
get to sell you a large cup of soda too
this is what many would call the add on
food effect more items means more sales
and more money for movie theaters
they offer premium food experiences well
I got money to spend in here in the
recent past the movie theater business
has undergone a kind of quiet revival
there are more and more high-end
theaters offering luxurious amenities
like plush seats fully reclining seats
wining and dining options private
screening theaters and several other VIP
services food and drinks are also
included in the luxury makeover is
experienced by movie theaters
great movie these include gourmet snacks
alcoholic beverages full meals etc they
are designed not just for your pleasure
but also to fill the pockets of the
movie theater while watching the latest
Avengers flick you can gorge on
scrumptious sliders sip on a handcrafted
cocktail or even enjoy a steak dinner no
doubt these value added services enhance
the movie-going experience but it also
means that movie theaters get to charge
exorbitant amounts for it want the
ultimate movie theaters openly practice
price discrimination this is the essence
of discrimination movie theaters employ
clever tactics to get you to buy more
food and drinks from the concession
counter the main objective is to make
sure that you spend as much as possible
at the concession counter you may just
want a tub of popcorn but when they
throw in words like combos and upgrades
you inevitably bite the bullet and
spring for the large soda a giant box of
candy or other such concession options
movie theaters openly practice price
discrimination towards their customers
price discrimination is defined as a
pricing policy employed by sellers
wherein they are able to charge
different prices usually the highest
possible ones to customers for the same
products based on how much the customer
is willing and able to pay I'm not
guilty you're the one who's guilty but
why do movie theaters do this that's
because they make a majority of their
income from concessions for example the
movie theater makes about 80 cents on
the dollar for the food that you buy
there whereas they make only about 50
cents on the dollar for the admission
it's the rest of the money reportedly
goes to the distributor of the film
so naturally concessions are where they
have a chance to make maximum profits as
for how they practice price
discrimination it's by various offers
and promotions like free upgrades free
refills buy one get one free etc nothing
is better than free food food and soda
commercials before the movie so many
previews so many previews so many
priests another sneaky trick that
theaters use to get you to spend more
money is by airing enticing food and
drink commercials before the start of
the movie the process begins when they
list the movie times at least 15 minutes
earlier than the actual start of the
movie this allows them to show more
commercials before the trailers which is
another source of revenue and it keeps
you the movie goer waiting for a lot
longer if you have to sit through about
15 to 20 minutes of commercials and
trailers you will probably give in and
go get something to eat or drink plus if
the commercials feature close-up shots
of buttery popcorn or ice-cold soda
there's just no way you're going to be
able to resist can't resist more great
videos then tap that screen checking us
out for the first time then show us some
love and hit that subscribe button and
ring that bell to join our notification
squad