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Drinking coffee before shopping makes you spend 50% more money, study shows
You may want to stick to a cup of water or fresh fruit juice to quench your thirst before shopping to avoid burning a hole in your pocket.
Caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, and energy drinks are most people’s go-to on a busy day when they want to squeeze too many things into their schedule. As if anxiety and drowsiness from caffeine weren’t bad enough, the same is shown to impact your shopping habits, that too in a negative way.
Study says coffee can affect your shopping habit
Nothing like a cup of freshly brewed coffee on your way to shopping – unless you want to avoid impulsive buying.
A study that aims to understand the spending habits of coffee lovers found that indulging in your favorite drink just before shopping can make you spend 50% more on things you may not even need.
The researchers at the University of South Florida carried out a real-time experiment to reach this conclusion – shoppers who drank the caffeinated drink before entering the retail store spent about 50% more money and bought nearly 30% more items than those who drank decaf or water.
- PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I tried tricking my body with decaf coffee every day for a week to see if I got the placebo effect
The finding makes sense when you think of the effect coffee has on the drinker, which extends beyond just keeping you from feeling drowsy momentarily.
Caffeine, the prime ingredient in coffee, is said to be a powerful stimulant that “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, said lead author Dipayan Biswas.
It was found that individuals who consumed 100 mg of caffeine bought more items and spent more money compared to others who didn’t.
It affects your choices, too
Another interesting finding from the study points out that coffee can also affect your choice of items; you may end up buying things you never originally planned to spend money on.
The news release notes that people who were caffeinated ended up buying non-essentials, such as scented candles and fragrances.
Even business school students involved in a parallel study to understand the effects of caffeine displayed similar behavior. Those who drank caffeinated coffee picked things like a massager from a preselected list of 66 options, while others who drank decaf went for practical items like a notebook.
If you’re a coffee lover trying to save more, the lead author shares some practical advice:
“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.”
