What kind of shopper are you? Are you a bargain hunter who loves a great sale and is forever looking out for the best promotion deals to reflect your modest and content lifestyle? Are you a practical shopper, whose sensible and not easily persuaded by constant bombardment of advertising campaigns? What about the impulse buyer, do you make snappy shopping decisions which are fuelled by the excitement and rush of the moment? (Understanding different types of shoppers, 2017).
What about addictive consumption, heard of that? Solomon, Bennett and Previte 2018 define consumer addiction as the psychological and/ or physiological dependency on products or services. The addictive consumer is unmotivated by practical and useable products, but is rather motivated to possess goods/services which stimulate thrill and excitement during their shopping experience. It can be noted that unlike most consumers, addictive consumption is not driven by habitual needs but rather is fuelled by a deeper desire and compulsive behaviour which act as a coping mechanism and way of managing our lives.
Research conducted by Sue Eccles reveals the experiences and subsequent consequences of forty-six women who are classified as addictive consumers. Eccles’s results have suggested that the consumption behaviour amongst the participants is merely identical, however the consumers are not a homogenous group. This theory evidently poses a threat to the individual’s mentality and ability to retaliate persuasive marketing and advertising campaigns which often feed and promote addictive behaviour.
What seems most alarming is the confronting and vicious cycle that addictive consumers experience. “They persistently repeat the behaviour despite it leading to severe financial and social consequences, such as huge levels of personal debt, potential marital breakdowns and not to forget the self-destructive guilt.”(Understanding different types of shoppers, 2017). These devastating repercussions force us all to analyse our own spending and consumption behaviours and reflect if we too engage ourselves in recurring retail therapy which affects our overall livelihoods.
For now, I will finish this topic with a quote for us all to think about…
Everyone is a potential addict—they’re just waiting for their drug of choice to come along.
References
- Eccles, S. 2019, Patterns of Addictive Consumption
- Press, T 2017, Understanding Different Types of Shoppers, viewed 16 March 2019 <https://tallypress.com/fun/understanding-different-types-shoppers/>
- Solomon, M, Bennett, R & Previte, J 2018, Consumer Behaviour – buying, having, being, 4th edn, Pearson Australia.
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