The Psychology Behind Impulse Shopping

The Wall Street Journal:

Is the impulse buyer an endangered species? As the Wall Street Journal reported, “A new intentionality has taken hold of shopping. Many Americans have the money and the will to spend. But they are time-pressed and deal savvy, visiting stores only when they run out of items like cereal or toilet paper and after doing extensive research on purchases online and with friends. They buy what they came for—and then leave. Those habits threaten more than just gum sales at checkout. Impulse is why stores offer deep discounts on loss leaders, why they put the milk in the back corner and why marketers spend heavily to pile up products in displays at the ends of the aisles. If shoppers just target the deals and don’t let their eyes wander, long cherished models for boosting sales fall apart.”

Even so, everyone shops impulsively at some point, says Kit Yarrow, a professor at Golden Gate University who studies consumer psychology. Resisting it can be hard. One way is to avoid situations in which your self-control might fail. Or try eating a piece of chocolate before going shopping – the brain uses glucose to fuel self-control.

Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal