Title: What Motivates Impulse Buying? | Psychology Today
Headings: What Motivates Impulse Buying?
Ian Zimmerman Ph.D.
What Motivates Impulse Buying?
Personality, pleasure, and product connections can all lead to impulse buys.

Content: Well, consider the following hypothetical example: The impulse buyer may feel unhappy, and may think that being seen with an expensive new purchase will bring respect and happiness. This perceived road to happiness motivates the impulse buyer to go shopping. Once in the retail environment a product catches the impulse buyer’s eye. S/he looks at it, probably picks it up and inspects it, and maybe thinks of a friend who owns it. The impulse buyer likes the product, and experiences pleasure at the thought of being able to purchase it immediately and go home with it. The impulse buyer can’t resist the urge to buy the product and does so, without considering whether it’s too expensive and/or frivolous. This inevitably leads to buyer’s remorse, paradoxically bringing unhappiness, the very feeling the impulse buyer wanted to stop experiencing. article continues after advertisement
Knowing what motivates impulse buying and whether these motivators are affecting you can help you spend less money on impulse. There is one caveat I’d like to mention, which is that everyone behaves impulsively now and then, and a certain (modest) level of impulse buying can be harmless.