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Imagine this…

It’s a slow Sunday morning. You’re sipping your French roast coffee on the couch while scrolling through a lifestyle blog post.
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You’re reading about the blogger’s trip to Italy, silently wishing you had the leather boots she’s wearing in every picture. Or a bowl of fettuccine. Sigh.​
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At the bottom of the page, you notice she ends her dreamy Italy recap with “Bye for now!” in a big, looping font.
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​Must be nice, you think as you scroll back up to the top and notice she has a “Store” button in her website menu.
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Wondering what in the world she could possibly be selling, you click it and land on her Amazon page.
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She has categories for products mentioned in every blog post.
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And lo and behold, she linked every outfit she wore in Italy.

Within minutes, you’re adding the leather boots to your cart—along with some linen shorts and a pair of sunglasses.
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Even though you had no plans to spend money today, your total is clocking in at $243. And you’re heading to the checkout page.
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​What persuaded you to (unexpectedly) spend money?​
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In today’s edition of Why We Buy 🧠 we’ll explore the Bye-Now Effect—why we tend to spend more when we see the word “bye.”
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​Let’s get into it.
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🧠 The Psychology of the Bye-Now Effect

Our brains love shortcuts, and “bye” and “buy” are homophones (aka they sound identical).
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So researchers wanted to see if the word “bye” primes the brain and makes people more willing to buy.
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First, participants read a travel blog post. The difference? The control group read a blog post that signed off with “so long.” The experimental group read the same post, except it signed off with “bye-bye” instead.
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Next, participants were told a new restaurant was opening. And they were asked how much they would spend on a dinner-for-two package.
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→ Participants who saw “so long” offered to pay ~$30
→ Participants who saw “bye-bye” offered to pay ~$45
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​That’s $15 more just because of a tiny word.

When we see a word, our brain automatically links it to words that are related to it or sound similar.
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And when we’re overloaded or distracted, it’s harder to stay laser-focused on the original word (and meaning) at hand.
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So sneaky word cues can slide in and start steering decisions.
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That’s why smart marketers lace micro-primes into their copy to quietly nudge more customers to buy.

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🤑 How To Apply This

Alright, so how can you apply this right now to sell more?​
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Branding​
​Bake persuasion into product names

IT Cosmetics didn’t leave their product names to chance.
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Instead, they created an entire collection with a sales-boosting phrase baked into each product: “bye bye.”

So from concealer to serum, you’re more likely to buy their beauty products over their competitors’.
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Email marketing​
​Prime readers to buy—before they open the email

Olive & June is a nail polish company that knows one of their customers’ top pain points: wanting their nails done, but not having the time in their busy schedule to let them fully dry.
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So they hook the browser with the problem, then nudge them to buy the solution with one word: “bye-bye.”

The result? You’re secretly primed to buy their fast-drying polish before you even open the email.
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Product pages​
​Make saying “goodbye” a no-brainer with unexpected social proof

Dove doesn’t just say “goodbye” to damage—they show real people doing it.
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They combine this powerful word with authentic UGC that we don’t expect to see on a polished product page: real people who look like their audience, showing off real results.

It’s a double-whammy of subconscious persuasion: “bye” primes the brain to buy, while social proof silences doubt.

Because when you see someone like you say “goodbye to damage,” you're more likely to say “hello” to the checkout page.

(Psst… Notice how close the “Shop Now” button is?)

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💥 The Short of It

Our brains la-la-love taking shortcuts to save time and energy.

That’s why when customers hear or see the word “bye,” it can make them more receptive to opening their wallet and actually buying.

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​Until next time, happy selling!

With ❤️ from Katelyn and Jordyn​

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