Impulse Buying, Explained

The new year is already quite well underway, but new year’s resolutions remain very much on the minds of the more dedicated amongst us. There are some familiar resolutions that we see each year, in the form of new gym memberships and abstentions from drinking alcohol, but a new one has emerged in the shape of a challenge: No Spend January. This resolution, partly inspired by the UK’s current economic situation, is one that tackles a more insidious form of consumer behaviour many of us have experienced: impulse buying.

What is Impulse Buying?

Impulse buying is a phenomenon with which a great majority of active consumers in the UK will be intimately familiar. For the uninitiated, though, impulse buying describes the unplanned purchasing of (typically) consumer goods. It can present as innocently as the last-minute grabbing of chocolates after stopping for petrol, but can also balloon to extremely costly levels.

Impulse-buying was previously limited to shopping excursions, where window shopping would invariably give way to baser instincts. However, the rapid expansion of the e-commerce industry, with recent developments in same-day delivery logistics and one-click payments, has brought the act of impulse buying not just into our homes, but into our pockets. Instant gratification has never been easier, and impulse-buying never more accessible.

The Psychology of Impulse Buying

Impulse buying can be considered in a number of different ways. In one more basic reading of the phenomenon, impulse buying might be an example of poor self-control; the instant gratification we experience when purchasing an item for ourselves, however extravagant or banal, is a chemical sensation brought on by the release of hormones. In this way, the ‘Pay Now’ button can become a ‘Make Happy’ button.

But a deeper reading might suggest something darker at play, as psychologists theorise a number of reasons for which impulse shoppers seek said gratification. Some suggest it is a mood management strategy, whether to attempt to stimulate positive feelings or otherwise distract from unpleasant emotions.

Of course, the impulse buyer is not completely responsible for their impulses; shops and sellers go to great lengths to incentivise quick purchases, whether through tantalisingly large discounts or prominent displays. With larger businesses, entire teams are built to strategise the best shop layouts for maximising customer spend.

Cutting Down on Impulse Buying

Impulse buying is not an inherently ‘bad’ practice. A little retail therapy every now and then can be nourishing for the mind, especially in those predisposed to scrimping and saving. However, impulse buying can become a costly habit if left unchecked – a dangerous prospect in hard times for the average household.

Stopping impulse buying is easier said than done, but there are some simple ways to start addressing it. For online shopping, you might fill your digital basket with ‘impulse’ items in a dedicated shopping session, and then empty your cart and leave the website behind. This way, you get the gratification of looking for and choosing the products without actually paying for them.

In general, a good practice to internalise is one fundamentally of patience; rather than succumbing to instant gratification, make an accord with yourself that you will buy the item next week, or even tomorrow. If you forget, you probably didn’t need or really want the product!