You've seen it only once, but you already know you want it. You think that there will be no more opportunities and that you need it. This is the description that perfectly defines the concept of compulsive buying and from that moment you have seen that good, product or service there is no going back. You ended up buying it. This is what in terms of economía we all know it as impulsive or compulsive buying.
What is an impulse purchase?
By the definition of impulsive purchase we conceive as the set of products, goods or services that we have bought without prior intention. That is, just the opposite of a rational purchase, that which has been premeditated.
In this way, a product that has been bought impulsively is not a product of first necessity, because it is a product that can be dispensed with. Thus, behind this type of purchase there is usually a strong commercial and advertising interest. Therefore, it is very easy to know how the compulsive buying process develops: discovering or seeing the product for the first time, having a feeling of desire or liking for it and buying it.
Types of impulse purchases
In many cases, the compulsive buying process is not limited to the first viewing of the product without more. The most common case is that of pure compulsive buying is one that occurs in the same act in which we see the product for the first time.
However, there are other types of compulsive purchases that are frequent, even some of them more dangerous, this happens in compulsive and planned purchases, those in which after seeing the product the desire to buy increases with the passing of the days, waiting for certain promotions or discounts to get it for a lower price, but finally have it in our hands. He consumer In these cases, he considers that he has made a good purchase, but the reality remains the same, a compulsive purchase that was not part of our plans.
How to avoid an impulsive purchase
In order not to fall into the temptation of impulse buying or unplanned buying, there are some guidelines that can help us, especially when there is high competitiveness in the market and a strong advertising campaign that is chasing the consumer. Taking into account these tips to avoid an impulsive purchase that we will find below, it will be much easier to resist the strong marketing actions that we are encountering.
- First of all: the price. We can ask ourselves: are we meeting our savings targets? If we comply with them, gratifying ourselves for the work and efforts we make is fine, but sometimes it is better to stop and think if it pays to buy an excessively expensive product considering the effort it took us to get that money.
- When you have detected which product you want to buy on impulse, think about the following: is there another product on the market similar to this one? So analyze this market and all the possibilities it has. That is, by doing an investigation of the product you want you will know if it is as good as it seems and if you really need it.
- At the same time that you consult the characteristics of the product you want, you can check if it exists in a second-hand market and under what conditions. Perhaps to be a whim or something that we do not really need, it is worth not investing so much in it and allocating our financial efforts to what we really need.
Finally, it is important to bear in mind that the effects of impulsive purchases can be very negative, and responsibility and knowledge of these commercial strategies can help us to have control of each purchase situation that comes our way, especially when we speak of whims that we give ourselves.