Any time you click on a targeted ad and reach for your wallet, or grab something that caught your eye at the supermarket checkout, you are making an impulse buy.
And few of us, it seems, have much impulse control.
In a recent survey by the personal finance site BadCredit.org, 90% of consumers ages 18 to 43 admitted to making impulse purchases.
An impulse buy is something purchased in the spur of the moment, a spontaneous, unplanned departure from your shopping list.
In the old days, an impulse purchase was something you spotted on a mall rack or in the checkout aisle. Nowadays, it’s often an item you buy after clicking on a customized popup ad or a link on an Instagram post.
“It’s become easier than ever to do impulse shopping,” said Dan Egan, director of behavioral finance at Betterment, the financial advisory company. “Now, a lot of the time, you can do it on your phone, sitting on your couch.”
Impulse shopping? Take your emotional pulse
Badcredit.org surveyed 1,002 Gen-Zers and millennials, asking them to name the top reasons they succumb to impulse buys. Among the findings:
- 41% said they impulse-buy when upset or caught in a mood swing
- 36% said they make impulse purchases when stressed
- 33% impulse-shop around the holidays
- 25% make impulse buys off of social media posts
Some young consumers spoke of “revenge buying” after a fight with a loved one. Others admitted to “doom spending,” spurred by a sense of hopelessness. The survey was published in late June.
“I really think that a lot of impulse shopping is emotionally driven,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, the personal finance site. “We’ve talked for years about retail therapy, and people going shopping to make themselves feel better, or to celebrate a big win in life.”
The approaching holidays present a fresh challenge for impulse shoppers, who must try to curb the urge to spend on themselves while also hewing to a gift budget for loved ones.
Impulse spending is a consumer habit at least as old as the candy rack at the supermarket checkout. (Does anyone put candy on their shopping list?)
Social media influencers are happy to spend your money
Lately, though, much of the impulse-shopping universe has moved online.
In a report last September, the personal finance site Bankrate estimated that American consumers had spent $71 billion over the prior 12 months on impulse purchases inspired by social media.
Roughly half of social-media users said they had made impulse buys, with the average impulse shopper spending $754. Most buyers regretted one or more purchases.
Influencers on Instagram and TikTok offer breathless product pitches, often framed by convenient links to Amazon and other retailers.
Earlier this year, social media hype drove consumers to pay hundreds of dollars on eBay for a $2.99 tote bag from Trader Joe’s after shoppers emptied stores in a seemingly random outbreak of impulse shopping.
When Stanley, the drink-ware company, released a limited run of colored cups at Target on New Year’s Eve, stores sold out across the country. Again, social media played a key role: The hashtag #Stanleycup drew more than 6 billion views on TikTok.
Facebook and Reddit groups devoted to Walmart, Target and other favored brands can spark a run on a coveted item with a single post. Disney fans will travel to a park and wait hours in line to buy a single souvenir.
Social-media shopping is rising every year, according to eMarketer, a market research firm.
Are impulse shoppers more sensitive to price?
Some impulse shoppers may be curbing their habit in these inflationary times. An annual survey by Slickdeals, the mobile app, found that the average shopper made fewer impulse buys in 2023 than in either of the two previous years.
Other shoppers, sensitive to price, may be more drawn to impulse buys if they’re offered a deal. This year, consumers have shown fresh interest in “spaving,” a mashup of “spending” and “saving.” Retailers offer discounts to customers willing to add one more item to their cart.
“We’re seeing better, deeper deals out there that are also enticing shoppers to buy things that weren’t on their list,” said Jill Blanchard, president, intelligence and insights, at Advantage Solutions, the sales and marketing company.
If you want to curb your impulse shopping, here are a few tips from the experts.
Wait before you buy
When you’re about to make an impulse purchase, step away from the laptop. Wait a day or two before you make the purchase.
“You can think about it as a cooling-off period, like we have with gun purchases,” Egan said.
Whenever Egan finds himself mulling an impulse buy, he puts the item on a wish list. Then, he waits a week. If he still wants the item, he buys it.
“Maybe 10%” of Egan’s impulse ideas survive that cooling-off period, he said.
Buy two, get one half off?How ‘spaving’ discounts can derail your finances
Don’t save your credit-card information
Saving your card number on an oft-used retail website makes it all too easy to buy on impulse, experts say.
“Even that simple act of having to find your wallet and type in the card number” gives you time to reconsider the purchase, said Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate.
Make a budget
You can assign a monthly spending limit on impulse buys.
“If you’ve accounted for it on the front end, then it’s not really an impulse buy, it’s something that you’ve planned for,” Rossman said.
Set a budget, too, for every outing to the supermarket or big-box retailer. Try to spend less than you budgeted.
“If you budget a hundred dollars at Target, and you walk out only spending $55, that’s a win,” Schulz said.
Don’t click on that ad
Try to avoid clicking on online ads and retailer suggestions. Targeted advertising is the essence of impulse shopping. You’re usually better off, consumer experts say, working off of a list and searching for items yourself.
Impulse shopping vs. ‘pantry loading’: Know the difference
Pantry loading means stocking up on items, often at a discount, beyond what you need for the immediate future. It’s subtly different from impulse shopping.
“If you are pantry-loading a product that your family is going to use,” that makes the purchase more defensible, Blanchard said.
