What makes you buy?

Hey it’s Edoardo from ElediaMails,

Today’s topic will not only be helpful for emails, but is relevant for marketing in general. Too often I see marketers don’t understand basic marketing principles.

While I love to make art in the work for our clients, it never is our priority. Our priority is converting the audience and building a lasting relationship with them.

If you run an e-commerce brand, you don’t just need to understand marketing -
you need to understand behavioral psychology.

It’s what explains why people act the way they do.
And in your case, it’s what decides why they buy (or don’t).

At its core, behavioral psychology is the study of why people act the way they do.

Every buying decision - whether it’s clicking a “Shop Now” button or ignoring an email - happens because of small, (somewhat) predictable mental patterns.

Understanding these patterns helps you see your customers not just as data points, but as humans who:

When you understand those motivators, you stop guessing what will work and start building systems around how people actually think and behave.

It’s the difference between saying “let’s try a bigger discount” and realizing that maybe your audience doesn’t need a bigger discount, they just need to feel like they’re getting a better deal.

That’s behavioral psychology in action.

The way you present, frame, and time your message can influence whether someone buys today, waits until later, or never buys at all.

And the best part?
You don’t need to manipulate anyone, you’re simply learning to communicate in a way that matches how people make decisions.

One of the most common psychological techniques used in e-commerce - often without realizing it - is anchoring.

Anchoring is when you use an initial reference point to shape how someone perceives value.

Let’s say you sell a jacket that normally costs €500 - but you discount it to €125.

Even though the real value of the jacket hasn’t changed, the original €500 acts as a mental anchor.
Now, €125 doesn’t just look good - it looks like a steal.

Simple right? And yet many brands fail to frame it properly.

That’s why showing the original price and “amount saved” in your emails is so powerful.
It frames the deal. It gives your audience a reason to feel smart for buying.

Anchoring is one of the simplest behavioral concepts you can apply immediately:

But anchoring is just one example.
Behavioral psychology runs through every element of your email strategy:

When you apply these principles, your emails stop relying on guesswork.
They start working with human nature instead of against it.

Not the greatest design or optimized for emails, but they used the strikethrough principle with their products. Initial anchor point higher than current price → more people buy

You’ve been using behavioral psychology all this time without knowing it. Understanding these principles will make sure that all of your content has more purpose behind them.

It’s how you make your marketing feel intuitive, natural, and persuasive without being pushy, and once you understand these underlying triggers, everything from your subject lines to your offers will perform better.

Until next time!
Edoardo

P.S. If you’re an e-commerce brand looking to scale to 7-figures and above we’re offering you a FREE audit where we’ll go through your Klaviyo account to see if there’s any room for improvement.

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