Impulse Buying – How to avoid it?

What is Impulse Buying

Simply put, impulse buying is buying anything that you hadn’t planned to purchase or budgeted for. It could be something as small as a chocolate bar when grocery shopping wasn’t on your list. We’ve all grabbed little items that are so conveniently placed near the till while we are waiting for our turn to pay. Impulse buying could also be something larger, like the latest iPad we just saw in the shop window and thought: ‘I must have this.’ Then, walking into the shop to buy it without good reason.

According to Omborigrid in an article entitled: Impulse Buying: Why Customers Make Impulse Purchases & What It Means for Stores, they define impulse buying as follows:

‘An impulse purchase is a spontaneous buying decision that happens just before a purchase occurs. While many consumers like to think that all their purchases are planned and considered, that simply is not the case.’

The internet, of course, makes impulse buying extremely easy. Anyone that has ever shopped at Amazon will recognise the recommendations stating: ‘Customers who purchased item X have also purchased Y’ or ‘X and Y are frequently bought together’. At the click of a button, we will have purchased not one but two books, for example.

You are not the only one to have made impulse purchases; according to an article published on Cison PR Newswire, Americans, on average, spend $182.98 a month on impulse shopping, that’s a whopping $2,196 every year. According to a CNBC Survey Monkey poll, 90% of Americans have admitted to impulse buying. According to statistics, men spend more on them than women. Studies indicate that shoppers make at least one impulse purchase every week. In some cases, they make up 80% of all sales.

Why do people impulse buy?

According to Brain Fodder, there are five main reasons we impulse buy: ‘Enjoyment, loss aversion, thinking you’ve spotted a bargain, the need to stockpile, biased evaluation of use.’

Omborigrid, in their article mentioned above, gives four motivations for impulse buying to occur. For them, impulse buying is often a result of ‘decision fatigue’ and is more likely to happen when shoppers are tired later in the day.

Emotions also play a big part; stress, sadness, and happiness can all cause someone to buy without prior intent:

‘Shopping or obtaining new items is enjoyable for many people, so impulse buys are often the result of simply needing a “pick-me-up” or some form of entertainment.’

Loss Aversion is a further reason to impulse buy. People believe that what they see in front of them is a good deal.

Distraction is the final reason Omborigrid mentions impulse buying, citing that distracted or absent-minded people are more likely to shop without thinking.

Problems with impulse buying

Above, we have analysed why people impulse buys. But why is it a problem? Hiranmayi Srinivasan, in her article How to Stop Impulse Buying says:

‘Retail therapy’ might make you feel good at the moment, but it can wreak havoc on your financial life.’

Impulse buying is terrible because it leads to clutter in your house. You end up with items you don’t really need and won’t use that end up taking space in your home and making it look cluttered and messy.

Impulse buying also has an impact on your finances. If you buy even just trivial things, it soon adds up. You’ll be left with credit card debt or unpaid bills because you spend your hard-earned cash on something else.

Imagine if you stopped wasting money on junk or unnecessary items. You could save up for a rainy day or for things you really want, like that holiday or that new sofa. You could save time by not having to tidy your home and hanging out with friends or family instead.

Okay, I understand why one shouldn’t impulse buy, but how does it work in practice? Below are some of my tips on how to avoid impulse buying. I am sure there are others. If you can think of any, let me know.

Strategies to avoid Impulse buying

My first suggestion to prevent impulse buying is to stay away from temptation. In the olden days, that simply meant not going to shopping centres or your local high street. Staying at home meant not spending any money. Nowadays, however, we must also beware of online shopping. Delete shopping apps from your phone and credit card details in your browser to make it harder to purchase at the click of a button.

Delaying purchases is another helpful strategy. When you see something in the shops or online that you are convinced you’ll need, don’t buy it. Instead, think about it and wait for a few days before making a buying decision. Often having a bit of space and time to reflect makes you realise that what you thought you desperately needed, you don’t really want after all.

Jeff Yeager, in an article entitled 12 Ways to Avoid Impulse Buying, talks about an informal experiment that he conducted which confirms the above:

“In an informal experiment I’ve been conducting with my cheapskate friends, most people who try this say that more than half of the time, they never go back to buy the item after the weeklong cooling-off period, and even when they do return to the store to buy it when they see the item again, they often decide they no longer want it.”

Paying for items using cash rather than credit or debit cards is another way to prevent impulse buying. Studies have concluded that it is psychologically harder to hand over cash. According to Shift, Credit card users spend up to 83% more than cash users when shopping. So next time you go to the shops, leave your bank cards behind and only bring as much money as you need.

Following on from the above, it is advisable to make a budget and stick to it. You are less likely to overspend if you know exactly how much money you have. Setting up a direct debit to your savings account is also a good idea. With this strategy, you are saving up for a rainy day rather than spending it on mindless junk.

Do you have a shopping list when you go and hit the shops? If not, you should. A shopping list ensures you don’t forget anything you need and don’t buy anything not on the list.

Don’t shop when you feel upset, sad, depressed or down in any way. When feeling low, you will easily convince yourself that shopping will make you feel better. It won’t. Try taking your mind off things by walking, exercising, reading an enjoyable book or listening to music.

Another way, which might seem odd, is permitting yourself to spend money. By this, I mean setting aside a monthly budget that allows you to spend a fixed amount on whatever you wish. This could be £10, £50, £100 or whatever you can afford. This way, you won’t feel guilty if you buy that T-shirt you just saw, as you know you have accounted for it.

Doing a no-spend challenge is another way to prevent spending on junk. No spend challenges can range from a few weeks, a few months to a year and more. This challenge only allows someone to spend money on essentials such as food and toiletries.

Finally, declutter your home, tidy up and check what you have before buying anything new. So often, we have perfectly good things already at home, but We don’t know that we do. We bury our belongings amongst all the clutter and chaos in our house. We think what we have isn’t good enough. Look at that tablet; does it still do the job? Polish your shoes. Do they look like new?

Conclusion

To get further ideas on how to get organised and more productive, check out my other posts here.

Contact me here if you need help with getting organised, and I’d be delighted to work with you.