HOT TOPIC
3. IMPULSE BUYING
Student Name:
HOT TOPIC
3. IMPULSE BUYING
CONTENTS
1. Impulse Buying Basics
3
2. Supermarket Impulse Buying
Strategies
4
3. Online Impulse Buying Strategies 5
4. How Do You Stop Impulse
Buying?
6
5. The Consequences of Impulse
Buying
7
6. Conclusion7
2
1. IMPULSE BUYING BASICS
Welcome to this Hot Topic on Impulse Buying.
Here you will learn about:
• What impulse buying is
• Ways in which sellers try to get you to purchase
goods on impulse
• Ways to reduce your impulse buying
This will help you to stop spending on goods that
you don’t necessarily want/need, and work towards
your larger financial goals.
Advertising and product placement in
shops and online is a large contributing
factor to impulse buying; for example
many people don’t know they “need”
that delicious chocolate bar until it is
placed in front of them at the
supermarket checkout. It is important to
recognise when we are making an
emotional purchase because often these
are wants, and not needs.
Impulse buying is the
purchasing of goods
without planning to do
so, often due to a sudden
desire for a particular
product.
Activity
Watch the following video on impulse buying, and answer the questions
below. https://youtu.be/iI81GFOhx_w
1. In groups, brainstorm the main reasons for impulse buying.
2. Distinguish between a “need” and a “want”, and outline some of the
methods that stores use to create the idea that we “need” something.
3
2. SUPERMARKET IMPULSE
BUYING STRATEGIES
Image source: http://kpopalypse.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/supermarket-sales-tricks.jpg
Activity
1. What impulse purchases have you made recently, and why did you
make them?
2. Why does the supermarket design their stores according to the
image above?
3. Which places in the supermarket are you most likely to find a product
you might be tempted to buy on impulse?
4
3. ONLINE IMPULSE
BUYING STRATEGIES
Activity
1. You may have noticed that Facebook’s advertising works in very
clever ways. When you search for products in Google, Facebook
recognises this and displays relevant ads whilst you are using their
site. There are many other ways that online stores can try to get you to
make an impulse purchase. Write down three ways you have noticed.
2. Often when you’re at the checkout part of your online purchase,
special offers and promotions come up. The seller wants you to see an
additional product that goes well with your purchase. This is the seller’s
way of trying to entice you to buy more.
If you owned an online food store, think of three combinations of goods
which you would advertise to online consumers to induce “impulse
buying.”
5