RSS Feeds
Avoid Impulse Buys to Halt "Shopping Momentum"
Posted by Kevin Purdy at 2:00 AM on March 1, 2008
You've probably proved this theory to yourself and groaned about it, but researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Business can prove it—buying one item reduces the amount of deliberation that goes into buying the next item, and the next one, and so on. In other words, as Get Rich Slowly's J.D. puts it:
Once a person decides to buy one thing, this creates "shopping momentum," increasing the likelihood that he will buy additional items. If you pick up an impulse item (like a magazine or candy bar) as you enter a store, this can serve as a trigger to encourage you to buy more.It's a good reason to find your impulse buy weaknesses and stay clear of them, if possible, to avoid arriving home with a long, unexplainable receipt in your pocket.
Tags: buying | money | personal finance | shopping | top
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Outtacontext
Posted 3:42 AM 1/3/08
What's interesting for me is that if I buy too much at one time buying more becomes less enticing. And, in fact, the purchases I've made on that shopping trip feel less interesting to me.
A few things at a time and I value each item more.
Outtacontext
Iqqy
Posted 3:42 AM 1/3/08
I wonder if this effect can last over a longer period, for example a few weeks. Cos it feels like that's what's happening to me right now. YP-P2 come to me baby.
Iqqy
vered
Posted 3:42 AM 1/3/08
Of course it's true. But impulse buying is FUN. There's more to life than saving and planning and controlling one's impulses. The occasional impulse buy, just like the occasional impulse *anything*, may actually be good for you.
vered
zenigmatic
Posted 4:07 AM 1/3/08
I do get extended period shopping jags. Thankfully I've become just as addicted to kaboodle.com and haven't bought anything unnecessary since. My name is zen and I haven't shopped in 12 days!
zenigmatic
enine
Posted 4:32 AM 1/3/08
I have a hard set of rules that anything I buy has to fit before I buy it. Such as where will it be kept, how will it work with whatever I already have, etc. these rules force me to research. For example this prevents me from buying one of those crappy digicams that requires a dock to transfer the pictures because I would have to dedicate a space to the dock, or one that uses a propritary lithium ion battery because I'd then have to dedicate space for a charger rather than using my existing AA's and charger.
Impulse buying I leave for the grocery store and resturaunts since whatever I buy there will be gone soon.
enine
phoenix
Posted 6:32 AM 1/3/08
@Bob1967: Word! Let's keep that economy moving!
On that note, I need a new laptop. :D
phoenix
Bob1967
Posted 6:32 AM 1/3/08
Rubbish - let's shop.
Bob1967
AlmostVegetarian.com
Posted 6:32 AM 1/3/08
Make a list. Use the list. And don't walk down the isle with the cookies.
It's the only plan you need.
Cheers!
AlmostVegetarian.com