Episode 558: Why That "10% OFF" Sale Feels So Irresistible & How To Use The Same Trick On Yourself

Summary

Episode Overview

Episode 558 - Why That "10% OFF" Sale Feels So Irresistible & How To Use The Same Trick On Yourself
Host: Jen Cohen
Guest: Shani
Release Date: May 29, 2026

This solo episode of Habits and Hustle with Jen Cohen, joined by her frequent co-host Shani, explores the psychology behind why "10% off" sales and similar offers seem so irresistible. The discussion centers on the concept of loss aversion—a powerful psychological bias that makes people more motivated by the prospect of losing something than by the possibility of gaining something. Jen and Shani unpack how this tactic is leveraged in marketing and everyday life, and how listeners can use this knowledge to motivate themselves and make more informed decisions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Understanding Loss Aversion (02:18–05:13)

• Definition: Jen introduces loss aversion—the idea that "people are twice as sensitive to loss than they are to gains" (Jen, 02:49).
• Example: Losing $100 feels significantly worse than the pleasure of gaining $100.
• Marketing Implication: Marketers and salespeople exploit this by emphasizing what you might lose rather than what you’ll gain.
• Quote:

  “If I give you a hundred dollars, you'll be happy, but if you had to lose a hundred dollars, you'd be twice as unhappy.”
  —Jen (02:49)

Practical Applications in Persuasion and Habits (03:13–05:13)

• Fitness Example: Motivating someone to go to the gym is much more effective by focusing on the negative consequences of not going (e.g., “you’re going to get really fat”) rather than the positives (“you’ll get fit”).
• Negotiation Techniques: In negotiations, people are more likely to act to avoid loss rather than to obtain gain.
• Quote:

  "Emphasizing what the other party may lose by not agreeing to the terms can be a much more powerful persuasion… than playing up the positives."
  —Jen (05:13)

The Prevalence of Loss Aversion in Marketing - Subscription Models & FOMO (06:01–07:35)

• Subscription Models: Businesses heavily use loss aversion by reminding customers what they’ll lose (e.g., discounts, benefits) if they cancel.
• FOMO Connection: The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a modern extension of loss aversion, driving behaviors like attending events or continuing subscriptions.
• Quote:

  “It’s idea, it’s basically loss aversion technique is equivalent to FOMO…what makes me go is because of what I would be missing, not what I would be gaining.”
  —Jen (06:37)

Everyday Decisions Driven by Scarcity and FOMO (07:36–09:13)

• Shopping Habits: Shani shares that often, people shop not because they love an item, but because they don’t want to not have the look or miss the deal.
• Scarcity as a Driver: Limited time offers, “while supplies last,” and exclusive discounts all key into loss aversion.
• Quote:

  “It’s scarcity or lack of… that is basically motivating your behavior versus what you’ll gain from that behavior.”
  —Jen (08:38)

Real-World Example – “Girl Math” and Cash-Back Apps (09:39–11:04)

• Rakuten Example: Jen confesses to spending more just to “make back” 10% via cashback, illustrating how even savvy consumers are not immune to loss aversion tricks.
• Quote:

  “I’ll buy a bunch of stuff…just because I’m saving, technically…even though I’m not saving, I’m making back 10% when really I’m not making a damn thing back.”
  —Jen (10:13)

The Marketer’s Mind - Psychology at Work (11:19–11:51)

• Marketers as Psychologists: Jen calls great marketers “the best psychologists in the world,” understanding and predicting behavior to an impressive degree.
• Quote:

  “People who are amazing marketers are really good at understanding human psychology and what makes a brain tick.”
  —Jen (11:24)

Awareness & Self-Motivation (11:51–12:51)

• For Marketers & Customers: The technique can be wielded for good—motivating yourself by framing actions in terms of what you lose by not taking them.
• Practical Motivation Tip: If the promise of getting fit doesn’t get you to the gym, maybe the threat of getting out of shape will.
• Quote:

  “Use this as motivation. Understand like if you're not motivating yourself with the positive…then motivate yourself with the negatives you're not going to get by not doing that thing.”
  —Shani (12:23)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Human Nature:

  “People are twice as sensitive to loss than they are to gains.”
  —Jen (02:49)

• On Scarcity’s Pull:

  “I have to, I can’t, I can’t miss out on looking like that for a day…It’s crazy.”
  —Shani (07:58)

• On Marketing Mastery:

  “Marketers are the best psychologists in the world, bar none.”
  —Jen (11:24)

• On Self-Motivation:

  “If getting to the, if being fit doesn’t get you to the gym…but potentially getting out of shape gets you to the gym, then use that, use that fuel.”
  —Shani (12:23)

• “Girl Math” Confession:

  “I’ll buy a bunch of stuff…just because I’m saving, technically…even though I’m not saving, I’m making back 10% when really I’m not making a damn thing back.”
  —Jen (10:13)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:18 — What is loss aversion and why it matters
• 03:13 — How loss aversion persuades more effectively than gain
• 06:01 — Subscription models and the psychology of “what you’ll lose”
• 06:37 — Loss aversion as the engine of FOMO
• 09:39 — Real-life shopping decisions and “girl math”
• 11:19 — Marketing genius: blending psychology with business
• 12:23 — Using loss aversion to motivate yourself

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Takeaways for Listeners

• For Consumers: Awareness is key—recognizing and naming loss aversion can help you make more rational choices.
• For Marketers & Entrepreneurs: Highlighting what people stand to lose is a more powerful motivator than painting a picture of what they could gain.
• For Personal Development: Reframe your goals and motivation—if “getting better” doesn’t push you forward, maybe “not getting worse” will.

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Jen encourages listeners to reflect on where loss aversion has worked on them—or how they’ve used it effectively—and to share in the comments, making this episode both practical and interactive for the Habits and Hustle audience.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it. Before we dive into today's episode, I want to thank our sponsor, Momentous. When your goal is healthspan living better and longer, there are very few non negotiables. One of them quality. And when it comes to supplements designed for high performers, nobody does it better than Momentous. Momentous goes all in on NSF certification, which means every single batch is tested for heavy metals, harmful additives, and label accuracy. And that's why they're trusted by all 32 NFL teams and top collegiate sports dietitians across the country. Here's the thing. They don't sell every supplement under the sun because they believe in nailing the basics with rock solid consistency. And those basics are protein and creatine. Momentous sources. Creapure, the purest form of creatine monohydrate available. An absolute must for both men and women who want peak physical and cognitive performance. So if you're serious about leveling up, go to livemomentous.com and use code Jen for 20% off. Just act now. Start today. Jen for 20% off livemomentous.com. Hi, everybody, and welcome to another solo of Habits and Hustle with my foil, Shani.

[B]

Hello, everyone.

[A]

So nice to see you.

[B]

I know. It is. You know what Sydney said? What? She goes, I haven't seen you in so long.

[A]

Well, she hasn't. You've been very busy trying to save the world.

[B]

I am.

[A]

I'm on a mission, one Israeli at a time.

[B]

If I. If it's the last thing I do, peace in the Middle east will come.

[A]

Yes. I mean, that's what we all want, but that's where you've been. I haven't seen you for so long.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, so I want to talk to you guys today about something that I. I kind of was doing some work on something, I guess, a week or so ago, and I wrote a little note to myself. I jotted a note down because I really want to have a podcast talking about something.

[B]

Have you read a physical written, not with a pen?

[A]

Yeah. I was in a meeting and I was talking about this whole concept, and then I'm like, you know, this would make a really interesting podcast episode. I want to talk about it and I want to bring it. Bring it up with you and what the topic is and what it is. It's a psychological marketing technique, and it's the loss aversion technique. Have you ever heard of this?

[B]

I have heard of this.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I have heard of this years ago.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Interesting concept.

[A]

It's a great concept, and I think

[B]

I subconsciously use it a lot, but I don't know the depths of it too well.

[A]

Okay, well, this is what. It's basically what it basically is. And I wrote down some notes that basically, as human beings, people are twice as sensitive to loss than they are to gains. So if I give you a hundred dollars, you'll be happy, but if you had to lose $100, you'd be twice as unhappy.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Right.

[B]

That makes sense.

[A]

Actually. It's crazy. So that what marketing people do when they're creating a campaign or what sales people do, they want you to know basically, what, what you'll lose. Yeah. If you don't do something versus what you will gain. Because that psychologically, what, what. The loss in your head is so much more severe than whatever. Whatever that gain is. So, like, now that we're in 2024 and we are all talking about New Year's resolutions and what to do, you know, all these things that we want to, like we want to accomplish and do. If you really want to get someone to do, do what you want. If you want to try to persuade somebody to do something that you want them to do, you would tweak your technique based on this idea of loss aversion. So, for example, if I said to you, shani, come to the gym. You're going to get really fit. Actually, it would be way more persuasive if I said to you, shani, come to the gym or else you're going to get really fat.

[B]

That would get me to the gym so much faster.

[A]

Right. If I said to you, shani, come to the gym or else you're going to get really fat by not doing this thing that psychologically will make you do that thing so much easier and quicker than me talking about, oh, Shani, if you come to the gym, you're going to get really strong, you're going to get really fit, you know, and you are going to feel great.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Yeah, you like that? You may. You may go, but you won't go as consistently and as quickly as if I told you of all this stuff. Like, if I said, well, you're going to get fat, you're not going to look as good, skin's going to get better, you're going to get bad, you're not your mood, you're going to have. You're going to get. You're going to get depressed, you're not going to have a great mood. I If I focus on all those things, you'll go way quicker.

[B]

You'll be alone forever.

[A]

You'll be alone for. I didn't say that, but that would

[B]

get me there fast.

[A]

Like okay. And that's why that I was going through all these like negotiation techniques. Like it says here. Like in negotiation, individuals may be more motivated to make concessions to avoid perceived losses rather than gain something. So when negotiating, emphasizing what the other party may lose by not agreeing to the terms can be a much more powerful persuasion or customer retention. That's why subscription models crush. Do you see how everybody now are now doing subscription? Every company, every, every business are basically creating their businesses around these subscription models. And this is for the same reason because they basically employ loss aversion by offering discounted rates for continued membership or reminding customers about the benefits they'll lose if they cancel.

[B]

That's so interesting.

[A]

And it's true. Like if I think about all the subscriptions that I have that I have, I never use by the way, I never use any. I use Netflix, I use. What else do I use? For what else would I use?

[B]

I don't know what you subscribe.

[A]

I mean very few do I actually use in subscription, right? But the idea of like me not having it and then I would be missing out on something that they have and then I won't have it. It's like kind of like fomo.

[B]

It's fomo. I was the entire time you've been talking I'm thinking like this is literally Gen Z FOMO marketing. That's the whole idea is like getting people to see that like they might miss out.

[A]

Like the whole concept because I see it is it's idea, it's basically loss aversion. Techni is equivalent to fomo because a lot of times when I don't go to an event or a party or something that I was invited to or should go to, the reason what makes me go is because of what I would be missing, not based on what I would be gaining. Like I never think, oh I'll, I'll see a lot of people that I haven't seen. I'll, I'll, I'll, I will talk to some great people, I'll socialize, you know, I'll have a couple of non alcoholic drinks because I don't drink. I would think, oh my God, who would be there that I would not get a chance to meet? Or like what am I missing? What's going to happen? What drama will happen? Or what am I going to be missing out on? Versus what I would be gaining. And if you really think about, like, why you do the things that you do, you notice that that's kind of why you're doing what you're doing a lot of the times.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So like these subscription models, like, I was going through a bunch of them, like all these, like, I don't know, even like supplement companies. I'm like, what if I run out of this thing and I'm not going to get it? Or I don't want to spend the $4 it's going to cost me to buy them singularly. I'd rather pay for it all year and save 67 cents on each bottle. Like, that's really what I think.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think of, like, how clothes gets marketed to me because I'm a big shopper when it comes to clothes. By the way, in lieu of our last podcast before my system not resolution is to purchase higher quality items and less cheap items. My way of doing that is limiting myself to like one to two items a month that are actually good quality pieces instead of like a lot of shopping. But I'm thinking when I'm being sold those things, I'm not necessarily buying it because I love the outfit. I'm buying it because I don't not want to look like the person wearing the outfit that I'm seeing wearing it. I'm like, I have to, I can't, I can't miss out on looking like that for, for a day. Do you know what I mean? Or for like a time. Like, it's just such a right. There's like, it's like a thing of. It's crazy. It's.

[A]

It's scarcity.

[B]

So crazy.

[A]

It's a scarcity or lack of.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That is basically motivating your behavior versus what you'll gain from that behavior. Like when, when a salesperson and I, you know, and that's what. That was what the meeting was really about. Like I was saying, like, when someone sells me something, a really good salesperson, what they do really well is they embed in me all the things that I will lose or lose out on if I don't do the thing versus play up the positives. And that's when they get me every time. Right. Like, oh, you know, like right now, the membership, even at the fitness, you know, I know I. There's no initiation fee. Let's just say I was like, there

[B]

was a number of like, like class things that I wanted to like buy. I was like, oh, if I. And the deal.

[A]

And.

[B]

And I had to stop myself because I thought, okay, save 10 or. Or $15 a month, but if I sign up in four months, like, does that matter? 15. I'm going to sign up now for 15. It's, like, crazy.

[A]

I'm going to give you a great example.

[B]

I actually fought that. I fought that one. But they worked hard.

[A]

Oh, they almost got me. This is a really good example. And Noah, my husband, makes fun of me all the time about this. He says it's. It's girl math.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Girl math is the best. And I use it all the time. All the time.

[A]

Like, for an example, Rakuten Ratan, I think it's called Rakuten. Right? Like, it's that app that, you know, you get back a percentage of money for every dollar you spend. Okay? So, like, and it changes all the time based on the day, right? So, like, for an example, if I'm going to Bloomingdale's or I'm shopping online at Bloomingdale's, you know, one day I would. I could save 2% on Rakuten. Or I get. Or I get 2% of my money back. Or I'll get some days. 10%. Something in my brain must be, like, flashing when I see the number going to 10% or 12%. I think three. I'm like, oh, my God, I'm gonna be making so much money. So I'll buy a bunch of stuff that I don't even need. Like, spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on crap I don't need. Because I'm saving. Technically, even though I'm not saving, I'm making back 10% when really I'm not making a damn thing back. I'm just spending a lot of money. And then I'll get a check in the mail for, like, 10 with it. It's just, like, so ridiculous. And that's why those companies are so good. And they get you every time.

[B]

They really do.

[A]

And they're.

[B]

They're marketing. I always knew marketing did wonders on me, but even as a kid, my dad had an ad agency. He. He. I grew up learning about marketing tactics and not to be sold. And yet here I am sitting, buying everything. I'm like, oh, that's. That's great. That's nice.

[A]

That works, you know, 100%.

[B]

Seven touch points with me. You could just get me on, like, one. One ad.

[A]

No, it's a. No, it's 100%. Like, people who are amazing marketers are really good at understanding human psychology and what makes a brain tick. So to me, like those, to me, like marketers are the best psychologists in the world, bar none. Because they know how to get your brain to act, to react what you're going to react to. They know what you're going to do 20 steps per before you even do it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I, you know, I just want me, I guess this, the purpose of me talking about this is number one, if you are a marketer or if you are someone starting a business, understand what this loss aversion technique is. I think it's really helpful when you're trying to acquire customers. And if you're a customer and not someone who's starting a business, be mindful and cognizant that this is a really brilliant technique of what works and what you should be very aware of so you don't make, you know, silly decisions and choices. That's it, 100.

[B]

And also use this as motivation. Understand like if you're not motivating yourself with the positive that you're going to get from something, then motivate yourself with the negatives you're not going to get by not doing that thing or you're going to get by not doing that thing. So if getting to the, if being fit doesn't get you to the gym, but potentially getting out of shape gets you to the gym, then use that, use that fuel. If it's not making the money that gets you to your job or like inspires you, then maybe it's not having any money that gets you motivated, you know.

[A]

Well, I think everything is about that, right? It's about thinking of what will happen if you don't do it versus what happens if you do it. I think that's all that motivates. It works for me every time. Obviously it works on you, works on a lot of people. Just keep that idea in your head, that technique in your head and let us know. Comment, let you know what, That's a great thing. Like if you guys, if whoever's watching this, listening to this, give me in comments some examples of where this action, this tactic worked on you or where you have used this tactic to help in your situation. I think I'm always fascinated by this stuff. This to me is super fascinating. So let me know, leave a comment and let me know.