In the current era of globalization filled with various trends, many people are affected by impulsive buying behavior. This behavior is different from consumptive behavior. This is because impulsive buying means consumer behavior in buying something without thinking twice due to being trapped by certain trends. This behavior is also often caused by momentary desires.
With the development of social media, various viral products make most people want to buy them. For example, the emergence of skincare products, makeup, and even seamless fashion trends during the recent Ramadan. When these products appear on social media, you immediately buy them without thinking twice.
Added to this is the development of various marketplaces and online shops that often provide discounts, making you increasingly easily tempted and buying without thinking long. In fact, you may not necessarily need those items.
The above is an example of impulsive buying that often occurs in society recently. In fact, according to research conducted by http://Thetradedesk.com, it states that almost 42% of Indonesia's population becomes impulsive buyers due to product discounts.
Therefore, it's important for you to know what factors trigger impulsive buying and how to overcome them. Let's read the following article to learn more.
Key Takeaways:
- Impulsive buying means a customer's tendency to buy products in the form of goods or services without thinking or planning them first.
- Fear of Missing Out or often known by the abbreviation FOMO is often experienced by consumers who pay great attention to prestige and social status.
- Impulsive purchasing of goods can also be caused by the appearance of attractive images, striking advertisements, and influencers who often promote products.
Definition of Impulsive Buying
Based on a quote from Siloam Hospitals (2024), Impulsive means an attitude when someone takes an action without thinking about the impact of what they do. Meanwhile, impulsive buying is a behavior or habit of buying goods without planning and tends to be unneeded and has no specific benefit.
For example, you go to the market to buy rice. However, upon arriving there, you instead spontaneously add candy when paying at the cashier. This is an example of impulsive purchasing.
Impulsive buying cannot be categorized to certain products. This purchasing can occur on any product, even expensive products such as cars, jewelry, mobile phones, and others.
Impulsive buying occurs due to irrational thinking from consumers. This is utilized by marketers to increase sales. For example, offering additional accessories for purchasing a mobile phone, such as discount packages with smartwatches or headsets.
Impulsive Buying Triggers
Emotions play an important role in impulsive buying. The thing that most strongly influences customer emotions is attractive offers or massive discounts. This makes consumers tend to buy without thinking first.
However, there are several psychological factors that trigger impulsive buying. Some of them include:
Sensation in Getting the Best Deal
Consumers are often motivated to buy because they feel they are getting the best deal and feel they have made certain observations. This can happen due to massive sales promotions. These buyers believe that the product can be beneficial for the long term so they decide to buy it without thinking about value and cost effectiveness.
Physical Stimulation
Environmental conditions such as store atmosphere, marketing activities, and product layout greatly influence consumer behavior. This also causes impulsive buying to occur easily. For example, placing discounted products at the front of the store, installing discount banners, greeting consumers warmly, and others.
Fear of Missing Out
Fear of Missing Out or often known by the abbreviation FOMO is often experienced by consumers who pay great attention to prestige and social status. This is because this FOMO nature is caused by feelings of fear of missing the latest trends. For example, buying clothes that are currently viral even though they are not needed (Siloam Hospitals Medical Team, 2023).
Dynamic Human Nature
Humans often easily feel bored with the same things over and over. This is because humans are dynamic creatures, so they like to experience change. This dynamic nature also applies to certain products or services. Impulsive buying often occurs in consumers who buy new items even though the old items still function well.
Ways to Overcome Impulsive Buying
Impulsive buying is indeed mostly caused by human emotions. However, there are several ways to overcome impulsive buying. Some of them are:
Setting a Shopping List
Having a shopping list not only helps you remember what you want to buy. But this can also make you more planned and not impulsive. Make sure to shop according to the list that has been set so you don't overspend.
Implementing the 24-Hour Rule
When you are tempted to buy something, give a 24-hour break. This aims to create distance between the initial purchase motivation and the actual need to buy. For example, we are often too excited when we see something we want. You can give a 24-hour break. With that break, it means you have the opportunity to reconsider whether the purchase is really needed.
Stop Following Social Media Accounts That Trigger Temptation
Impulsive purchasing of goods can also be caused by the appearance of attractive images, striking advertisements, and influencers who often promote products. With technological advances and online marketplaces, you just need to click one button to buy a product or service. This is an example of impulsive buying.
Prioritizing Clear Financial Goals
You can overcome impulsive buying by knowing long-term financial goals. Usually financial goals aim to achieve financial stability, such as having sufficient savings, retirement funds, emergency funds, or having assets and so on (Bennett, 2023).
You need to do self-reminders about the financial goals you want to achieve to reduce the desire to buy impulsive goods and use the money for long-term savings. Always instill positive thinking, strengthen commitment and self-discipline to achieve bigger goals.
Conclusion
Managing impulsive buying behavior in shopping is becoming increasingly important as the globalization era develops, full of trends and temptations. Impulsive buying often occurs due to emotional impulses and unplanned momentary desires, which can result in unnecessary expenses and even financial instability. Recognizing and controlling impulsive behavior is an important step towards financial well-being. Some ways that can be done include setting shopping lists, implementing the 24-hour rule, stopping following social media accounts that trigger temptation, and prioritizing clear financial goals. By implementing these strategies, we can be wiser in managing finances and achieve long-term financial stability.
Interested in reading similar articles? You can visit the following link.
