Why we buy What we buy

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We have a friend who could not resist buying bigger sizes clothes for her children during the seasonal sales though it will take 2-3 years for them to catch up. The prices and deals are too irresistible for her.

Impulsive buyers do not limit themselves to the cash at hand but can access future income to spend today. Unfortunately most of it is spent buying stuff that were neither planned nor necessary. While some people love to brag about their ability to clinch a deal that no one could, other love to peel off the price tags to reveal the original price to make them feel good.

This picture was taken at home.


Deep inside, we are impulsive buyers like the child who cries for a toy in the display window. But is impulsive buying a problem?

The answer is yes even if one has infinite budget or unlimited space. This disrupts the budget and leave us with little money along with stuff that we never needed. This prevents the creation of good and lasting financial habits that would allow to save up for larger planned purchases.  If not controlled this to could lead to a much more serious condition known as compulsive buying disorder (CBD), or oniomania.

According to Wikipedia this is characterized by an obsession with shopping and buying behavior that causes adverse consequences. This "is experienced as an irresistible–uncontrollable urge, resulting in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity [that is] typically prompted by negative affectivity".

Impulse buyers are not likely to consider the possible consequences of their spending. Some of the reasons are:

  • Extreme urge to possess an object as the person In China who traded his kidney for an IPhone.
  • The love of buying new things because of a temporary high we experience upon buying a new item.
  • Fear of missing out (FOMO) and being left without something that friends already have.
  • Because of Brand affinity and a discount sale appears irresistible.
  • Want to save money and believe the more we buy the more you save.
  • Have a notion that buying a particular item will make them happy and improve their mood.

It becomes difficult to resist a situation once we see something in a store that is a great deal, but the reality is that it will probably just sit around your house and gather dust.
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Comments

  1. Vinay NagarajuApril 27, 2019 at 5:58 PM

    Interesting! CBD is a new terminology to me. Most companies thrive on this impulsive buying by customers. Google does a good job at tracking an item you search to buy and the same is advertised on any site you visit. Personalised ads are targeted towards these compulsive buyer, essentially the goal is that if you see something long enough, maybe you are converted into a buyer. Apparently this gives some sizeable results for customers.

    But yeah, sensibly speaking, it does make a lot of sense to know why we are buying something and ensure that we don't buy without a good rationale. Of course, no room for rationalisations though ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SumandebrayApril 27, 2019 at 8:09 PM

      Thanks Vinay for stopping by and leaving your thoughts.
      When you come to think of it, it's a rather serious disorder that could ruin one.
      Google is doing great and so does ebay to nudge people with targeted advertisement. Even Ali Express does the same thing... its a mafia.

      On the other end we have also witnessed people's money being plundered due obsession with clothes and shoes such as the accumulation of Imelda Marcos of Philippines and elena ceaușescu of Romania.

      Delete

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