If you haven’t ever used the application Wish, you have probably seen adds passing by on social media. In these adds, famous football players unpack tens of boxes from Wish, all containing cool gadgets which are relatively cheap. But have you ever ordered something yourself? Well I did. And the first product I received was so beneath my exceptions I threw it away.
For the uninformed, a short summary on Wish. The application Wish offers a digital platform which connects manufacturers, mainly situated in Asia, with the world of smartphone users. The user can scroll through lists of products which are all heavily discounted. So how are they able to offer these products at such high discounts?
First, we recently all learned that through digital platforms, products are offered for lower prices compared to traditional stores. The disappearance of middleman, which incurs costs, offers the possibility to offer discounts. Second, the manufacturing costs within Asian countries are substantially lower compared to western countries. Third, Wish misleads users by giving a wrong perspective of the discounts received. For example, Whish presents the customer with a picture of a Bose Bluetooth speaker with a 98% discount. The price is just €20,- compared to a speaker of €872,-. However, when you open the description you see the specification of the speaker, except for the name Bose. The reason is that the speaker you will receive most likely is a fake. There is a large possibility that the speaker will stop working within 2 weeks and you threw away €20,-. Buying products from Wish is a lottery as you never know exactly what you will receive at home.
So how come certain people keep ordering products on Wish even though the product uncertainty is fairly high? I assume one reason is the marketing of Wish. Using famous football players in their latest campaign heightens trust in the platform. But the main reason Is probably because the products really are a bargain. People know the quality is low and that products are fake. However, the price is so low they have no problem accepting it.
Sources:
Interesting topic, I’ve seen the Wish commercials too. Asside from cebrities raising trust, how do you explain people paying (20) for something if they can see the specifications and reviews are that bad? I asume people are still looking after a good price/quality-ratio right?
Hi Arjan,
We can assume that the speaker promoted as a Bose speaker is a fake. However, it does offer many possibilities the regular speaker has and it has the same aesthetics as the Bose speaker. Some people might buy it just for the aesthetics, as it looks like you own a very expensive speaker. Besides, if you search for a bluetooth speaker online for the price of €20,- you will find really crappy ones. €20,- is probably still a bargain!