The video in yesterday’s post, where dogs were tested for their ability to ignore distractions, reminded me of humans and impulse buying.
A USA Today article entitled Put Down That Shiny Object! Most have made impulse buys warns:
Holiday shoppers beware: Most Americans (75%) have made impulse purchases, and half regretted doing it, according to a new survey from CreditCards.com.
About a third of people have blown $100 or more on an impulse buy. Men are the biggest spenders when it comes to this: They are three times more likely than women to spend more than $1,000, according to the survey of 1,000 U.S. adults.
That doesn’t apply to me because I’m not a holiday shopper. We don’t exchange that many presents now, and even when we had a number of nieces and nephews to buy for, I always bought well before Thanksgiving. I purposely avoided the Christmas mania that seems to strike most Americans.
What about impulse purchases? Mostly I buy things online from companies that guarantee customer satisfaction, and I do research first and read the reviews. Andy and I do spend more money now in our new upscale grocery/department store, but it’s because they have more of the food that we like and because we sometimes see something new and are willing to try it. If it’s no good we don’t have remorse. It’s come from our “experimental money” and was a learning experience. The main thing is we never spend more than we can afford, and on the whole we enjoy what we buy.
What kind of a shopper are you?
November 26, 2014
i’m with you of course.
i hate shopping even when it’s not a holiday! LOL.
i do love all the christmas decorations … the lights and the beauty of it all.
so sometimes i go out among’em just to people watch and enjoy that part of it.
i googled your new grocery store and it’s wonderful!!!
trying new foods and groceries is fun to me. don’t mind that shopping.
and if i had a thousand dollars… it wouldn’t be an impulse spend!!! WOW.
We always go for a drive Christmas Eve to look at all the decorations, and our new store has an interior decorator who has done a great job with Christmas. I’m guessing that will be enough for me this year.
I hate shopping, too, and a chronic illness and resultant disability means that I cannot run from store to store. My husband does the grocery shopping. I buy all gifts and specialty grocery items–we’re vegan and we live in a decidedly un-vegan small town–online. I spend lots of time reading reviews and considering between various items. This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for online shopping because it means that I can be productive and save my husband from having to shop for gifts. It means that I can carefully compare prices and better manage on our income. Already, grandchildren’s gifts are arriving at our doorstep.
Online shopping is a real blessing — even more in your case. I’m glad it’s there for you.
My impulse buys are almost always books. I never spend money I don’t have though – only debit cards, no credit cards.
We use credit cards, but never spend more than we can afford. I’m with you on spending for books. Also art supplies, even though I have no artistic talent! I do love the colors.
from time to time, I have been known to impulse buy but nowadays most things are thought out…
this week though I needed a certain art product to try out, large containers are usually the best buy but I only wanted a small amount, I did a local online search (not to buy online) and then when I went to a real bargain store (differing products cheek by jowl) I had a better idea of the fancy art store pricing…
I’ve read a couple of articles that say retail stores are having to change the way they do business. Too many people are like you — they do a lot of research before shopping, so they’re more focused when they buy.
I am not an impulse buyer. I however buy things regularly online particularly books and DVDs whenever I come across some interesting reference to them. I visit malls regularly to go to movies and do not indulge in any shopping, much to the amazement of some of my friends who simply cannot do this.
I don’t like to shop in stores either. I do love browsing for books and DVDs to put on my Netflix list.
Like you, I’m not an impulse shopper. I hate shopping and I only do it when I have something specific to buy. As soon as I’ve found what I want, I’m straight back to the comforts of home and other shops don’t tempt me at all. Being aware that many impulse buys are not all they’re cracked up to be also puts the brakes on.
I’m with you. Even if stores were to have great sales on Black Friday I wouldn’t go. I hate crowds. Yay, online shopping!