[unbalancedevh]

People get convinced in the heat of the moment that they want something, when if they had time to reflect/research/etc. they might very well conclude that their money is better spent elsewhere. Marketing in a capitalist system is highly motivated to make you think you want or need something more than you actually do.

One tactic that some people find helpful when they want to buy a discretionary item is to wait a few days/weeks, and make sure that it's not just a whim that they'd regret.

[WalterBright]

Watch TV commercials over the years. The older ones are laughable. They steadily get more sophisticated as the years go by. That's because the customers get more sophisticated, too. You might call it evolution in action :-/

Political campaigns also get more sophisticated. Scott Adams has an interesting podcast where he breaks down the latest manipulative persuasion techniques used.