Impulse purchase

In our society today, impulse purchasing (a profit-making tool for brands) is a growing issue plaguing both the consumer and industries alike as economies around the world start to grow. From the point of the consumer, impulse spending will lead to losses of income due to over expenditure such as spending too much money in a month for clothing or electronics just because they are new rather than because we need them. The problems can also come in the form of space utilization where the cumulation of past purchases such as clothes and furniture just start to take up a place in the house as we keep on getting newer clothes while the old ones fall out of style, favor and subsequently uses. In addition, the previously mentioned problems, impulse purchase itself can lead to addiction. As a person continuously overspends on each purchase, it becomes less of an occasional thing and more of a norm in one’s life. Thus, in such a situation, the sudden effort to not to impulse purchase may lead to a reduction of quality in living as perceived by the person as well as downright depression and anxiety.

While it is true that over expenditure is beneficial in terms of the bottom-line to these industries, more often than not, the spending trend of consumers will often force industries to overproduce products to reach potential demand. This overproduction is a loss in terms of raw materials, operation cost, as well as human cost in the event, said products are not sold off as per predicted. In extension to that, the problem as previously mentioned with space utilization is repeated here where the occupancy of space (warehouses) also incurs a cost to the business as the products stay stagnant.

1) Out of every 5 rupees spent by consumer 2 rupees are due to impulse buying decisions. 2) Younger consumers with higher incomes have a greater percentage of impulse purchases. 3) The most significant motivation for impulse buying, which accounts for 88% of the impulse purchases, is that the item is on sale. 4) 90% of people make occasional impulsive purchases and between 30% to 50% of all purchases were classified by the buyers themselves as impulse purchases. 5) 20% of what shoppers buy at the grocery store is bought on impulse. 6) 75% of consumers feel happy after impulse purchases. 7) 62% of impulse buys are ‘wanted, not needed’. 8) 71% of people leave things at home that: (a) were bought on a whim. (b) they have not used. (c) they will never use. (d) they are planning to throw out. Source: Reference section: 4 and 5.

A graphic representing impulse purchase. Source: Reference section: 5.

Industries, as well as individuals, aren’t the only parties affected by the ill effects of impulse purchasing either, the environment or the earth itself suffers as well. Impulse purchasing as mentioned previously would ultimately lead to the cumulation of past purchases by the consumer as well as overproduction by companies some of which may spoil (food produce), run out of favor (shirts and dresses running out of trend) or even run out of relevancy (electronic products that are outdated). In cases like this, while some items may be given away as charity or as part of a promotional event, more often than not, it would be thrown away into landfills. These landfills in turn would bring their own unique problems ranging from potential toxic material being released into the earth, leachate which is the liquid formed when waste breaks down in the landfill and water filters through that waste, production of greenhouse gases (methane) due to the compacted down waste material being broken down through anaerobic processes, as well as direct disruption of natural biodiversity and ecosystem from the presence of landfills.

A graphic representing mindfulness. Source: Reference section: 6.

Mindfulness is the alternative medicine for a performance-driven society and it borrows from Buddhist traditions to offer people tools for a more aware lifestyle and greater spirituality. Living mindfully means acquiring mental strategies for everyday life to break up negative thought patterns or to learn how to deal with demanding situations. The aim is to create a positive, authentic feeling for life. Whichever path each individual follows is a question of personal configuration. For some people, it’s daily meditation with the smartphone app, while for others it’s regular digital detox holidays. And other people choose to change their lives radically and live according to their own rhythm.

The mind-body connection of today’s consumer is influencing the marketplace to become — and let its consumers know it is becoming — more conscious and aware of the environment. A recent Forbes article describes the mindfulness of 2018 as being more conscious and aware of the world around us.

“So, what do you do?”

“Now I am in the final semester, doing my masters in Design for Retail Experience.”

“Oh! I haven’t heard that before, sounds interesting though. What is it about?”

“Basically we study ways to create an appropriate experience for customers to shop in retail environments.”

“I see, so you are the ones behind making people do impulse purchase?”

My conversation with a stranger which triggered the motivation for the project.