During the sales season, people all over the world make a lot of unplanned purchases that bring them only short-term pleasure, and then cause big problems – regret, mental emptiness and … debt.
Impulse shopping is one of the few areas where marketers and entrepreneurs are trying to use psychological research data to influence the minds of consumers. Marketers allocate large amounts of money in their budgets to incentivize rash and pointless spending, spend that money on salespeople who are able to compliment you on your appearance, on those who offer you a glass of champagne in the store, on computer algorithms that push you to buy things. that you don’t need.
Pass the tests
- What kind of buyer are you?
While most people think of products in terms of their usefulness, buying choices are most influenced by the meaning the product has for the consumer. This is especially true in case of impulsive buying. That is why the American economist John K Galbraith noted that “a person who buys groceries in a supermarket does so under the influence of his deepest emotions.”
According to psychologists, consumers make impulsive purchases when it seems to them that a product or brand corresponds to their worldview and ideas about themselves, helps them express and express themselves, their “I”. For example, if you think you’re “cool” and that’s important to you, you’ll be happy to pay more and buy an Apple product (if you think it’s “cool”). Products, and especially brands, are thus turned into symbolic trophies, and consumers use them to validate their self-esteem and communicate it to others. Strong brands are anthropomorphic: they have distinct individual characteristics that consumers use to show off their individuality to others.
Read more:
- Shopping – pleasure or addiction?
In the US, impulse buying is estimated to be worth $4 billion a year. The first studies in this area suggest that up to 62% of purchases made in stores can be considered impulsive. At the same time, online shopping is much more often the result of impulse, rather than rational and controlled behavior. Differences in impulse shopping are determined by cultural, contextual and personal factors.
The more individualistic a culture is, the more out of control consumer behavior will be. It is also known that people are more likely to make impulsive purchases when they are stressed or feel they are not in control, and as a result, impulsive shopping is more common after natural disasters such as earthquakes. People who consider their position in society high enough, as a rule, show more self-control and are less prone to the desire to make impulsive purchases. Interestingly, when we go to the store with friends, we are more likely to make a purchase than if we went there with one of our relatives.
Read more:
- Why do women love shopping more than men?
Different people have different ability to self-control. It is known that people who are prone to impulsive shopping are also prone to seeking new experiences, they are more easily bored and crave new, unusual sensations.
Against the background of the spread of narcissism in recent decades, it is worth noting that narcissistic people spend more effort and money on their appearance and the acquisition of things. No wonder impulsive shopping is on the rise. Internet addiction also contributes to it, and some researchers believe that this is a factor influencing the consumption habits of computer and smartphone users.
Impulsive shopping can turn into addiction, and then it negatively affects the personality and interpersonal relationships. As long as it doesn’t, it’s not a problem. For some, acquisitiveness is the meaning of life – “I buy, therefore I exist.” After all, if we were all smart consumers, the economy would suffer.
See more at The Guardian.
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