Impulsive Buying: If you don't need it, don't buy it

For some people, shopping is an exciting activity. Both at the mall and online at the market place, shopping is very tempting, right? From those who only wanted to give one item, all of a sudden they bought all kinds.

When it comes to shopping habits, we've probably received the advice often enough to “buy what you need, not what you want”. Because, if we can't control our desires, what we might get is regret.

Impulsive Buying

Shopping behavior is closely related to what is called "impulsive buying”. According to Rook (1987) there are three main features in impulsive buying, namely buying goods that are (1) unplanned, (2) difficult to control, and (3) accompanied by emotional responses. Impulse buying occurs when a person experiences the urge to buy something immediately without thinking about the consequences.

So, in other words, impulsive buying is the behavior of buying something without careful thought, or buying spontaneously without rational reasons and only based on feelings.

Impulsive Buyer Personality

According to Gray (1975) there are two systems in the human brain. The first system is called the Behavioral Activation System (BAS). This system is responsive to incentives and cues for reward, and regulates approach behavior. The second system is the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), which is responsive to cues of punishment, frustration, and uncertainty, and regulates avoidance behavior.

Each of these systems has a sensitivity that varies among individuals. People with BIS are highly reactive and prone to stress and anxiety. Whereas people with highly reactive BAS are prone to impulsivity, and they are less able to resist stimuli that trigger approach behaviors. The biological basis of impulsivity then provides the basis for chronic individual differences in impulsive buying.

Research conducted by Ramanathan and Menon (2006) reports a correlation of 0.35 between scores on the BAS scale and impulsive buying tendencies. This led to the discovery of a relatively strong correlation between impulsive buying tendencies and assessment of the big five personality traits.

What is meant by the big five personality are the five basic personality dimensions, which have been found universally and are relatively chronic throughout life. The five personality dimensions are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness. Impulse buying tendency is positively correlated with extroversion and negatively correlated with conscientiousness and openness. Thus, these results suggest that impulse buying has a chronic component that is rooted in personality.

Buying As A Symbol Of Value And Identity

The activity of buying goods can symbolize a lifestyle, group and social status, class, religion, and others, so that buying goods can be said to be an activity that represents these things. Individuals will usually try to highlight "who they are" when the individual feels threatened, one way is to buy goods that represent the lifestyle, class, or status they want to strengthen. Thus, it can be said that impulse buying is intended to clarify, confirm, or express one's identity. As for the purpose of impulse buying, it can be seen from what objects are bought impulsively.

This phenomenon is in accordance with the theory put forward by Wicklund and Gollwitzer, known as the theory of symbolic self-completion. This theory states that individuals always have a need to explain and confirm who they are. This theory assumes that the symbol of completion is an indicator of an individual's position in relation to the goals he has set himself, and wants to show to others. So that the formation of symbols of completion as symbols that are considered as a certain identity.

This act of impulsive buying is driven by identity problems as illustrated by this symbolic self-completion theory, in which the theory states that this occurs as a result of differences between the individual's "the real self" and the "ideal self". This impulsive purchase causes the individual to find materialistic values that exist in the ideal self.

Lack of Awareness of Self Control

Impulsive buying behavior is said to be synonymous with a person's lack of ability to control himself. Supposedly, that person can exercise conscious self-control in resisting the temptation to buy the desired product. This control can take the form of thinking before spending money, moving away from the product being displayed, or controlling emotions.

What causes a person to lack self-control? Baumeister (2002) explains that there are three things that cause individual failure to control themselves.

First, because of a conflict of goals. For example when a person has two opposing desires: to save money and to satisfy cravings.

Second, self-control can be damaged by behavior that is not monitored. An example is when a dieter violates his dietary standards, so he stops monitoring the food consumed and even consumes more.

Third, because of mental fatigue. Self-control certainly requires mental resources, so when someone is mentally exhausted, they automatically lack these resources.

Impulsive vs Compulsive

O'Guinn and Faber (1989) define compulsive buying as repeated and persistent buying behavior that occurs in response to negative events or emotions. The main motive behind this behavior is to relieve those negative feelings.

Compulsive buying is often associated with psychological aspects such as low self-esteem and negative emotions. It is also associated with high but unstable self-esteem, as observed in individuals with narcissistic personalities (Rose, 2007).

In addition, it is associated with entrenched pathological conditions such as mood and anxiety disorders, as well as impulse control disorders associated with substance use and eating disorders (Black, 2007).

At first glance, compulsive buying may resemble an extreme form of impulse buying. Both behaviors share common motivating factors, including materialistic values and concerns about identity. Conversely, impulsive buying tendencies correlate with low self-esteem and negative emotions.

Both compulsive buying and impulsive buying behavior are associated with a lack of awareness and resistance to change (Mowen & Spears, 1999; Verplanken & Herabadi, 2001).

SelfRegulation and Impulsive Buying

Impulsive buying is an example of a person's inability to regulate himself. Meanwhile, self-regulation is the ability to regulate thoughts, feelings, and behavior according to desired standards. For example, managing spending money, sorting out what needs and wants are.

In the adolescent group, which is generally referred to as the period of searching for one's identity, it is natural that they are susceptible to influence, wishy-washy, and unstable. In fact, impulsive buying is often found in adolescents as a fulfillment of social needs. Purchasing trending items aims to get validation from peers. Therefore, this behavior or habit can become a big problem, especially if the financial condition is limited.

Therefore, with self-regulation individuals can control impulsive buying behavior to achieve predetermined goals and reduce anxiety, unhappiness, and improve psychological well-being, thus helping individuals to create strategies that can help them complete their lives.

How to Prevent Impulsive Buying

One of the main tricks in preventing impulsive buying is reducing information about the desired item. Stay away from information in various ways such as setting the timeline of social media platforms and comparing whether the product you see is worth the price offered

There are several tips to prevent someone from getting caught up in impulsive buying, including:

- Remember again on our goal of managing finances.

- Don't forget to consider the value and function of the item you want to buy.

- Take a certain time range. For example, when you want to buy something, think about it for 24 hours, do you still want to buy that item or is it just a momentary wish?

- Think about the sustainability of goods. Will this item last? Are you going to use it continuously?

- Be mindful.. Don't shop when you are full of negative emotions. Buy consciously.

So, for those of you who like to shop online, don't get easily poisoned by spills and just check out.

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Editorial Team:

Athallah Faiq, Sherli Dewanti, Abi Dwi Nugroho, Anjani Layla Nafteta Faluty, Athira Kamilia Fitri, Halwa Adinda Anggie, Khaironnisa Faadihillah

 

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Source:

- Ramanathan, S., & Menon, G. (2006). Time-varying effects of chronic hedonic goals on impulsive behavior. Journal of Marketing Research, 43, 628–641.

- Gray, J. A. (1975). The psychology of fear and stress. New York: McGraw-Hill.

- Verplanken, B., & Sato, A. (2011). The psychology of impulse buying: An integrative self-regulation approach. Journal of Consumer Policy, 34, 197-210.

- DeSarbo, W. S., & Edwards, E. S. (1996). Typologies of compulsive buying behavior: A constrained clusterwise regression approach. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 5, 231–262.

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- Faber, R. J., & O’Guinn, T. C. (2008). Compulsive buying: Review and reflection. In Haugtvedt, Herr, & Kardes (Eds.), Handbook of consumer psychology (pp. 1039–1056). New York: Erlbaum.

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- Yurchisin, J., & Johnson, K. P. P. (2004). Compulsive buying behavior and its relationship to perceived social status associated with buying, materialism, self-esteem, and apparel-product involvement. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 32, 291–314.