> I think the case could be made that sales tactics like this are common at nearly all major retailers
That's why these sorts of tactics need to be made illegal. The US desperately needs better consumer protections, the amount of scams and misinformation flying around is dizzying.
There are laws against this sort of thing in Canada. If you say something is "50% off!" the ordinary price you're comparing against must pass either a volume test or a time test.
What is the harm if a person pays $50 for something, and $50 for something with a 50% off sticker next to it? The latter just releases some chemicals in the purchaser’s brain maybe making them feel better.
Vendors don't put the 50% off sticker on it to make those happy who would have bought the item anyway. They put it on to trick people who would not pay 50$ for the article into doing so.
That's why these sorts of tactics need to be made illegal. The US desperately needs better consumer protections, the amount of scams and misinformation flying around is dizzying.