Why we make impulse purchases

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

New Year's sales and the season of discounts after the holidays force us to make a lot of rash purchases every year and generate a bunch of things around us, the practicality of which has to be doubted. Why do we do this every time? Understanding the psychology of impulsive shopping.

The New Year shopping season is exactly the time when marketers take on all their knowledge of psychology and do everything to make you irrationally want to buy something and more. From sales assistants who are sure to compliment your looks, to calculated algorithms that make you want items you can't even afford, everything will stimulate you to waste your money senselessly and recklessly.

Most people think about why they need a new thing in the house. We are trying to assess how functional this item is, how it can be applied, whether it will be useful. More importantly, almost every thing has a psychological meaning for us. This is the decisive factor in the case of impulse buying. John Galbraith, an American economist, cynically noted that a person who simply buys groceries in a supermarket is already captivated by his deepest feelings and emotions.

Psychologists believe that people make impulse purchases when they think that a brand or product fits their own worldview and helps to strengthen their sense of their individuality.

For example, if you imagine yourself to be a tough guy and think that being that way is good, then most likely you will buy a gadget from Apple, even overpaying a little. After all, the products of this company have a special psychological value.

Thus, both items and brands play the role of symbolic trophies, thanks to which buyers strengthen their self-esteem. Companies are stronger the more often they use anthropomorphism in their ads and clearly define the personal characteristics of the person who buys their products. Then buying is used as a signal by which we show our individuality to others.

The first studies in this area showed that more than 62% of purchases in stores were made in one way or another on impulse. This is more true for online shopping: here rational planning of income recedes into the background, as we lose a sense of reality. Of course, this is influenced by cultural, contextual and personal factors that determine how we shop.

The more the culture of individuality is developed, the more often we visit the store.

Of course, impulse purchases are also made under the influence of stress, when we lose control of the situation. Research confirms this fact: after major disasters and natural disasters, people buy a lot more. Interestingly, we shop less when we shop with relatives, and a lot more when we shop with friends.

Oscar Wilde said that he can resist anything but temptation. In general, people are quite different from each other in their ability to self-control, and this explains the individual approach to impulse shopping. Some are looking for admiration and a dose of pleasure, while others may hold back for a long time to get hungry for unusual sensations.

It is also worth noting that the level of narcissism has been growing over the past 10 years, and narcissistic people spend much more time accumulating material wealth around them, as well as their own appearance. The number of impulse purchases is also increasing because the mobile entertainment industry is growing, instilling in us an attachment to the Internet. Therefore, online shopping is becoming commonplace. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a new pair of shoes or a bonus in the game.

Like other addictions, impulsive shopping must create problems for you to be considered harmful. In other words, if you can cancel the sudden purchases and get your money back, there is no trouble. But if you see around you a warehouse of things that become the meaning of your whole life, you should start worrying.

On the other hand, we all exist in a culture of consumption. “I buy, so I exist” is a kind of motto for many. And perhaps the concepts of nationality and religion will soon be replaced by the brands you choose.