Drinking Coffee Makes You Spend More!
If you’re shopping on a budget, you might want to choose decaf!
A study by the University of South Florida (USF) has revealed that people who drink caffeinated coffee before they shop typically spend 50% more in store than those who don’t.
This is because caffeine increases your likelihood of making impulse purchases, by increasing adrenaline and making you less risk averse.
Lead author Prof Dipayan Biswas explained:
“Caffeine, as a powerful stimulant, releases dopamine in the brain, which excites the mind and the body. This leads to a higher energetic state, which in turn enhances impulsivity and decreases self-control. As a result, caffeine intake leads to shopping impulsivity in terms of higher number of items purchased and greater spending.” (source)
The researchers set up espresso machines at store entrances, offering free coffee to shoppers, then they surveyed how much they’d spent on their way out by checking their receipts.
Approximately half the shoppers were offered coffee containing 100mg of caffeine, while the other half were offered decaf coffee or water.
Those who’d had caffeine in their drink spent a lot more money and purchased significantly more items than the control group who did not have caffeine. The caffeine group also bought more non-essential items, such as scented candles.
The researchers then did a similar study looking at online shopping habits and found similar results. Those who’d had caffeine made a greater number of non-essential purchases, while those who’d not had caffeine were more likely to buy practical items such as a note book.
“While moderate amounts of caffeine intake can have positive health benefits, there can be unintended consequences of being caffeinated while shopping. That is, consumers trying to control impulsive spending should avoid consuming caffeinated beverages before shopping,” Biswas said.
Now I’m wondering whether when I accidentally bought a camera lens from Hong Kong, had I been drinking caffeine?
The study was published in the Journal of Marketing.
The summary article from the University of Florida is published here.
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