Impulse spending (or retail therapy) in the UK has steadily increased as the country wide lockdown has continued<\/p>\n
What is Impulse Spending?<\/strong><\/p>\n Impulse spending can be known by different terms \u2013 Invisible Spending, Emotional Spending, or Retail Therapy. It is best explained as the act of shopping with the intention of improving one\u2019s mood. Scientific studies suggest that emotions, feelings and attitudes play a decisive role in purchasing, which is often triggered by a well-crafted promotional message or by seeing the product itself.<\/p>\n Are you an Impulse Buyer? <\/strong><\/p>\n Nearly 80% of Brits regularly shop on impulse, and 23% of these make impulse purchases on a weekly basis. A study for the Independent Newspaper reveals that impulse buys account for an average spend of around \u00a3200 a month. Four in ten people admitted to making purchases in the name of retail therapy, with 54% of these purchases made online. Clearly, the retailers are actively targeting the impulsive shopper.<\/p>\n Every month Brits make an average of nine impulse buys, this equates to over 6,000 poorly planned or unnecessary purchases during a lifetime. Unsurprisingly, payday is the day we are most likely to make an impulsive purchase.<\/p>\n Why do we buy things on impulse?<\/strong><\/p>\n Because of our emotions; emotions play a\u00a0huge\u00a0part in what we buy. Our personal finances are just that – personal. So, when something is going on with us personally, it shows up in our money habits.<\/p>\n Making decisions based on pure emotion is a sure-fire way to let impulse buying take control. The thing to remember here is that retailers know this, and they capitalise on these emotions. They play on your emotions with their ads, hoping they\u2019ll hit the right emotional triggers that cause you to buy. But the emotional lift we’re looking for may only be short-lived, as almost 70% of impulse spenders admit to feeling guilty afterwards.<\/p>\n We also impulse buy because of our past. If you were not taught how to handle money at a young age, then impulse buying and overspending could be a problem. According to a 2019 poll, the top two reasons people gave about why they handle money the way they do were \u201cthe way their parents handled money\u201d and \u201cthe state of their household when growing up\u201d. If you want to understand the foundations for your beliefs about money, think about how money was handled in the household you grew up in.<\/p>\n And we impulse buy when we believe we are getting a deal. Who doesn\u2019t love a good bargain? While we are led to believe sales, discounts and clearances are good things, the retailers are cleverly targeting us with personalised ads for items we don\u2019t necessarily need. But with seemingly big discounts the temptation to buy is increased, even if we don\u2019t need the item to begin with.<\/p>\n How to Stop Impulse Buying<\/strong><\/p>\n