QTECH — Algorithms rule when it comes to buying online. With an increasingly digitalized population, the power of technology to influence our purchasing decisions is greater, especially in discount seasons such as Black Friday.
The question that arises is whether consumers can trick or hack the algorithm to avoid falling into its trap and make less impulsive purchases. Dr. Francisco Javier Zamora Saborit, professor of the Marketing Degree at the International University of Valencia – VIU, belonging to Planeta Formación y Universidades, points out that “the answer is yes. Although the algorithm is very powerful, it is not infallible.”
The expert revealed behavioral patterns and tricks that users can implement to avoid falling into the clutches of algorithms and thus avoid temptation and buying on impulse.
Tricks to fool and protect yourself from algorithms on the internet
First, we can purposely modify our movements on the web and social networks to give the algorithm a wrong reading of our preferences.
“You can search in incognito mode, use virtual private networks (VPN) or clean your browsing history regularly to help reduce its accuracy. You can also interact with products or categories that you don’t normally buy, which confuses the algorithm and diversifies recommendations,” explains the VIU marketing expert.
If what we want is to avoid leaving a trail of preferences for each site we visit, there are some specific measures that Dr. Franciso Javier Zamora recommends:
- Disable non-essential cookies on websites.
- Use privacy-focused browsers such as Brave or DuckDuckGo and adjust privacy settings on your social networks to limit tracking.
- Use browser extensions that block trackers, such as Ghostery or Privacy Badger.
- Avoid using a single account (for example, Google or Facebook) to log in to multiple platforms, as this facilitates cross-collection of data.
Taking advantage of the algorithm and not being manipulated by it
Letting algorithms take control of preferences causes us to end up inside a shopping bubble where the same products are shown over and over again, something that becomes annoying and excludes other interesting options.
To avoid this, Dr. Zamora recommends looking for products that are not your usual preferences, visiting stores without logging in, or exploring reviews on forums where the algorithm cannot act with such precision.
Likewise, we can train the algorithm in our favor by searching for specific products, comparing prices, and filling shopping carts with preferred items, which can generate automatic discounts or reminders with promotions.
“Diversify your sources of information. Do not rely only on automatic recommendations and consult other platforms or independent stores to ensure you get the best options,” says the expert.
Our behavior on the web is a faithful footprint
Algorithms are increasingly more powerful. Their ability to collect the information we leave behind with each movement on the Internet trains them to build a detailed profile of each user.
Clicks, searches, interactions, comments, screenshots, shared links and even the time we spend looking at certain products, make up a large volume of information that allows the algorithm to know what people want and trigger in them a feeling of urgency to buy quickly.