The New Normal, Unplanned Purchases
According to Kevin van Zyl, Sales Manager from Storeworks“, As defined, in the field of consumer behaviour, an impulse purchase or impulse buying is an unplanned decision by a consumer to buy a pro duct or service, made just before a purchase. Retailers have done countless hours of research into what makes a consumer impulse buy – it is a huge money maker, after all. A survey, conducted by OnePoll.com, reveals that in America, “three in four (73%) respondents said most of their purchases tend to be spontaneous – a significant jump from 59% who held the same sentiment in last year’s study. “The average person spends $314 every single month, consistently, on impulse buying.
This monthly spend has been increasing steadily since at least 2020.”Globally, consumers are feeling the impact of the rising expenses, and with budgets tightening, they decide what is worth the spend and what can wait.
Or we just call it impulse buys … buying items on a whim, without planning to do so. These can range from a candle that catches your eye, to a travel sized toothpaste.
“41% of consumers (according to GWI, consumer research group) say they are going to spend less on treats and luxuries, yet impulse purchases creep into even the tightest of budgets.” There are commonly four categories of impulsive buying behaviours:
- Pure impulse buying involves making unplannedpurchases for the sake of novelty or escape.
- Planned impulsive buying, when a customerprepares for a specific purchase and keeps an eyeopen for promotions or discounts.
- Reminder impulse buying happens when a customer sees an advertised item and remembers that they are running low or out, leading them to make an impulsive purchase.
- Suggestion impulse buying happens when a customer sees a product and imagines a need for it, despite not having previous knowledge of the product (great in store advertising).
Frontiers in Psychology (Frontiers | Publisher of peer-reviewed articles in open access journals), found that between 40% and 80% of purchases fall into the impulse category. Their report goes on to say “Retailers and store owners can benefit from knowing which merchandising strategies encourage shoppers to make unplanned purchases. In certain product categories, impulse buying accounts for nearly 80% of purchases. So, with this in mind, what are consumers impulsively spending their money on? After clothing, food and drink is the next most impulsively bought items, though this impulsive buy may be declining as we feel the cost-of-living rise. Impulse purchases of non-basic food and drink seem to be the first cost cut. Clothes, food and drink are essential purchases, so it is understandable to see them number one and two for top impulse purchase categories.
We love to shop
There are many people who just love to shop. Buying something new can be liberating and for some and can even become addictive. Buying new goods without too much forethought, whether needed or not, can become routine. “When we make a purchase, our brain releases endorphins and dopamine. For some, this momentary pleasure can lead to compulsive shopping, as the instant reward and motivation to re-experience the ‘rush’ starts to outweigh self-control and practical financial considerations.” Explained by Priory Group, a provider of addiction and mental health care facilities in the United Kingdom. This tendencyvis used by retail to continue inflating sales.
Time constraints
With most people having busy schedules, when going to the store and seeing a conveniently placed product that is needed or wanted, there is no time to compare prices between brands or stores. The item is simply bought and then the client moves on as quickly as possible.
It’s on special!
Naturally, people try to make decisions that will keep them from having buyer’s remorse or regret losing out on a good buy. The thought of losing out on a deal or discount can create an impulse buy, when it's realised that there is a time limit, it is why it is called ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out).
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