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Impulsive spending

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Summary

  • Fast buys, avoided decisions and confusing bills or rules can all matter; slowing purchases alone may not be enough.
  • Popularity, low-stock alerts and positive reviews may also increase the urge to buy.

Fast purchases and avoiding financial decisions can occur together

Proposed in research

A study of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found that participants reported more impulsive buying. They also more often made financial decisions on a whim or avoided making them(Bangma et al., 2019).

Financial difficulties extend beyond buying too quickly, and ADHD cannot account for all of them. A community survey found no clear remaining association between these behaviors and ADHD symptoms after accounting for personality traits, depressive symptoms and demographic characteristics(Bangma et al., 2020).

Calculating prices does not mean understanding bills and rules

Proposed in research

In an adult ADHD study, participants scored lower than controls on tests of understanding bank statements and banking rules, and assessing financial problems. Differences in arithmetic ability explained only part of these gaps(Bangma et al., 2019).

Financial difficulties may therefore also involve understanding terms and assessing financial problems, beyond calculation errors or buying too quickly.

Popularity, low-stock alerts and positive reviews raise buying urges

Research-backed

In a simulated online shopping experiment in the general population, messages about high demand, limited stock and positive reviews all increased participants’ reported urge to buy(Sin et al., 2022).

A strong buying urge may reflect prompts on the page as well as the product itself.

Evidence

References (3)
  1. Cohort studyFinancial decision-making in adults with ADHD.Bangma, Koerts, Fuermaier, Mette, Zimmermann, Toussaint, Tucha, Tucha (2019). Neuropsychology
  2. Cohort studyFinancial decision-making in a community sample of adults with and without current symptoms of ADHDBangma, Tucha, Fuermaier, Tucha, Koerts (2020). PLOS ONE
  3. Randomized trialDark patterns in online shopping: do they work and can nudges help mitigate impulse buying?Sin, Harris, Nilsson, Beck (2022). Behavioural Public Policy