Caffeinated consumers spend more

People who consume a caffeinated drink before or while shopping demonstrate heightened impulsivity and spend more, according to a study published in the Journal of Marketing.

Why it matters

Consumers often drink coffee, tea, energy drinks or carbonated beverages prior to, or during, shopping trips. The ubiquity of coffee shops in commercial locations, from high streets to malls and inside various retail stores, demonstrates the potential influence caffeine might have on buying behavior in multiple venues.

The findings

• The Journal of Marketing study, entitled “Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending”, was based on experiments in retail stores and in lab settings.
  
• It found drinking a caffeinated, rather than non-caffeinated, beverage “enhances impulsivity” in terms of the number of items purchased and higher spending.
• Such an effect was stronger for “high hedonic” products most associated with pleasure, and was also “attenuated for low hedonic products”.

The implications

• The study demonstrated how activities that are seemingly unrelated to purchase decisions need to be considered by marketers.
• For consumers, the analysis noted, moderate caffeine intake can have positive health benefits.
• But, the research continued, it may also result in “unintended negative financial consequences … on spending.”
• “Hence, consumers trying to control impulsive spending should avoid consuming caffeinated beverages before shopping,” the study argued.

Sourced from Journal of Marketing