Impulse Buying Facts You Should Know

According to a June 2023 survey, 31% of UK shoppers believe they are just as likely to make an impulse purchase in physical stores and on the internet. Whereas 33% of Brits are most likely to make an unplanned purchase in a store, 36% say they are more prone to online impulse buying.

Over in the US, the same survey found that 29% of shoppers are likely to buy a product on a whim regardless of the venue. And while 35% of Americans say unplanned purchases are more common in stores, 37% are most likely to make an impulse purchase when shopping online.

The latest available data reveals that Gen-Zers (41% of those surveyed) and millennials (34%) are the most avid impulse buyers in the United Kingdom. At the same time, 32% of Gen-Xers and just 16% of baby boomers in Great Britain also described themselves as impulse buyers.

Much like Brits, young Americans are more likely to display impulse buying behaviour than their older counterparts. Interestingly, however, fewer US consumers feel comfortable describing themselves as impulse buyers. As such, only 23% of US Gen-Zers, 22% of millennials, 19% of Gen-Xers, and 17% of baby boomers admitted to being prone to making impulse purchases.

Statistics on impulse purchases from the most recent large-scale study show that an average Brit spends £416 a year on unplanned buys. Moreover, they spend £184 a year on items they later regret purchasing. Interestingly, 54% of Brits say they make in-store impulse buys every time they go shopping. Asked about reasons for their impulse buying, 50% of consumers said they enjoy treating themselves, while 31% said spontaneous purchases make them feel better.

A study of impulse buying behaviour of UK consumers found that sweets and candy bars top the list of the most common unplanned purchases, with clothes in second and fast food in third place. Coffee and soft drinks ranked fourth, dining out placed fifth, books finished sixth, and beauty products ranked seventh. The study also found that an average Brit spends £19,204 on tech impulse purchases in their lifetime, with another £10,209 spent on beauty products. What’s more, consumers spend a lifetime total of £9,544 on impulse purchases of pet toys and treats. Before spending money on items which could be perceived as unnecessary, it is important to look at your online bank account to make sure you can afford impulse buying.

Translating to $151 in local currency, the number points to a sharp decrease in an average US consumer’s impulse buying behaviour. The monthly average in 2023 marked a drastic 51.9% decline from $314 (about £248) in 2022. It is also well below the $276 (£218) and $183 (£144) recorded in 2021 and 2020, respectively. On the whole, 38% of Americans say their impulse spending has significantly reduced compared to 2022. It is thus no surprise that the average number of monthly impulse purchases has halved — from 12 in 2021 and 2022 to 6 in 2023.

According to a July 2023 impulse buying behaviour questionnaire, 55% of Americans said they impulse-bought clothes in the previous year, making it the product category most commonly purchased on a whim. Other products and services US impulse shoppers spent the most on included groceries and food (50%), household items (42%), and shoes (32%). Food delivery ranked fifth at 23%, followed by books at 21% and toys at 20%. Meanwhile, the two product categories least likely to elicit an impulse purchase were technology (19%) and coffee (18%).

A 2023 survey conducted in the UK and the US found that 48% of consumers had recently made an impulse purchase online. More than half of them — 56% — ended up regretting that particular purchase. The reasons were numerous, including poor item quality (36% of the cases) and differences between the received product and the one depicted on the site (26%). But the authors noted another key finding: the dangers of impulse buying aren’t limited to customers.

Although 45% of consumers decided to keep the purchased item despite regretting buying it, retailers still had to deal with high return rates and issue refunds. More worrisomely, 39% of unsatisfied customers were very vocal about what they saw as a negative experience, telling their friends and family about it and potentially hurting the retailers’ reputations in the process.

The findings of a 2023 survey show that more than one in four Brits have bought homeware items they saw on their social media feeds, only to regret the purchase later. Social media sites like TikTok and Instagram are major drivers of impulse purchases, and people often overspend because they opt to buy new rather than refurbished items. According to research, purchasing well-preserved second-hand homeware items could save an average Brit about £136 per year.

Worse yet, the survey authors suggest another reason why impulse buying is bad — it indirectly contributes to waste. Namely, UK buyers are on track to waste 44 billion kilograms of carbon on homeware purchases in 2023. Because they produce so much waste and are most often bought impulsively, items like rugs, cushions, and kitchenware are often referred to as “fast homeware”.

Also known as cross-merchandising, this technique involves grouping together products that serve similar purposes or those that are typically bought by the same type of customer. An age-old approach, it is among physical retailers’ go-to impulse buying marketing strategies. There is much evidence of the effectiveness of cross-merchandising. For example, in 2007, a UK drink retailer reported a 39% revenue boost after moving spirits from behind the counter, thus allowing customers to browse them in the same way they do wines and other drinks.

Similarly, in 1998, the staff at Tesco noticed that men bought nappies more frequently than women, likely because their wives were at home taking care of the babies. As part of an impulse buying marketing experiment, they decided to display beer next to nappies, assuming new dads would add a six-pack to their cart on the way to the checkout without giving it too much thought. It was a big success, with fathers buying nappies much more likely to buy beer than other men.

According to the world’s leading internet retailer, cross-merchandising is just as effective in stimulating online impulse buying behaviour. Amazon implements this technique in two ways. First, above the product description, visitors will see a button that adds to cart not just the item they’re viewing but one or two similar products that are “frequently bought together”. There’s also a carousel gallery featuring items bought by those who have purchased the product the customer is viewing — another example of cross-merchandising aimed to elicit impulse buying.

Several studies have found that people are most likely to purchase a product impulsively if they believe it’s a bargain. For this reason, many retail stores place a cheaper version of a product (typically store brand) next to a few of its more expensive counterparts. That way, after quickly scanning the prices, casual shoppers with no strong sense of brand loyalty will grab the cheap version, convinced they’re getting an excellent deal — even though that might not be the case.

Always looking to figure out how to encourage impulse buying, stores have long ago found an easy solution — put an assortment of soft drinks, candy bars, and other treats in the checkout area. Recent data shows that these checkout area sales rake in upwards of $6 billion (about £4.7 billion) for US stores each year. The reasoning is simple: people can get bored, hungry, or thirsty while waiting in line. Also, having just finished their shopping, they might not have enough willpower to resist their impulses, so they’ll grab one or more items and put them in their carts.

A recent study investigating the causes of impulse buying in a fast fashion context found that people are up to 40% more likely to buy an item on a whim when told it’s unique or the last of its kind. Whether real or not, this perception of scarcity triggers a consumer’s fear of missing out (FOMO), urging them to buy the product in question while they have a chance. It also causes what scientists refer to as “competitive arousal” — the fear that someone else will buy a product before they do — which had devastating real-life implications during the 2020 global pandemic.

Although it invariably results in regret and even financial strain, impulsive buying isn’t a mental health issue. Instead, experts attribute this type of behaviour to a combination of circumstances and the feeling of satisfaction people feel when they buy something for themselves. According to its definition, impulse buying refers to any purchase that wasn’t previously planned. While this doesn’t have to be a problem for people who can afford such occasional splurges, it can cause serious issues for those with tight budgets, especially if they tend to buy things they can’t afford.

Most experts agree that every impulse purchase falls into one of the following categories:

• Pure impulse purchase occurs when a person buys something they don’t normally buy, something that’s a novelty — at least for them. Examples of pure impulse buying include candy bars in the checkout area or a magazine a person sees next to the counter.

• Suggestion impulse purchase occurs when a shopper sees an item and instantly feels the need for it. For example, seeing a cereal bar at checkout will spark the feeling of hunger, making them think they’re buying what they need rather than what they want.

• Reminder impulse purchase speaks to the person’s impulse to stock up on familiar products and avoid running out. Reminder impulse buying examples can include everything from flour, milk, and sugar to lighters and batteries.

• “Planned” impulse purchase occurs when consumers buy something they already planned to purchase. However, due to a special offer, a limited-time discount, or a perception of scarcity, they end up buying more than planned or from a different brand.

Scientists believe personality traits are also among the factors affecting impulse buying in consumers. Although it is by no means a rule, research shows that people who make impulse purchases tend to have low levels of self-esteem accompanied by high levels of stress and anxiety. In many cases, experts have also noticed negative moods and depressive symptoms.

Despite attempting to stop impulse buying, more than half of US consumers are caught in a vicious cycle of making impulse purchases to fight stress, only to suffer more stress as a result. Of this group, a staggering 87% say they go on stress-buying sprees several times a year, and 60% do so at least once a month. Moreover, 48% of those who have impulse-bought to deal with stress say they have spent more than $200 (about £158) on at least one such purchase.

Some people who engage in impulse buying tend to develop compulsive behaviours. For this reason, compulsive shopping disorder is one of the more severe unwanted effects of impulse buying. While this condition isn’t considered a mental health problem by relevant associations, many psychiatrists treat it as they would any addictive behaviour. People who suffer from it have an unhealthy obsession with shopping for items they don’t need, spend hours researching them online, have trouble holding off on purchases, and often accumulate debt due to their spending.