Those purchases, which are made spontaneously without prior planning, are called unplanned purchases. In such items advertisements, display, discounts, sales promotion schemes, free coupons, lottery gifts, etc. induce a consumer to purchase them when otherwise he has no intention to buy. Home purchases from sales persons are largely of this nature as well as certain purchases at the store. But study done in Delhi suggest that only 10 percent of purchases fall in this group.
Unplanned purchases occur “when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately. The impulse to buy is hedonically complex and may stimulate emotional conflict. Also, impulse buying is prone to occur with diminished regard to consequences”. For example, a person from South India visits Delhi in December/January unaware of weather. When after arrival in Delhi he feels cold, he is forced to buy a woollen jacket. A person from Delhi when visits Kerela in July/August without knowing that it rains heavily there all the time, he is forced to buy an umbrella or a raincoat. This is also situational influence on purchase decision.
When one visits a store and sees that certain products are at 80 percent discount or ‘one is free with one’ or there is a scope of winning a lottery the consumer puts aside ‘shopping list’ and purchases such a product, thinking that it is bargain purchase and its advantage must be taken. This is spontaneous purchase.
Sometimes one is influenced by sudden excitement and stimulation to purchase a product suddenly. When one sees a store and finds a product, which he was urging to buy for, long immediately buys it, thinking that it may not be available when actually he will need it.
When one visits a fair, exhibition or mela almost 100 percent of purchases are unplanned. People in India visit many fairs and melas where they go with the intention to buy certain goods but neither have they decided in advance their purchase basket nor they have shopping list. If they find something attractive to purchase either price wise, quality wise or product wise or they see some new product purchases are made spontaneously without any prior plan.
The unplanned purchases can be under following circumstances:
- Spontaneous.
- Power compulsion and intensity to acquire a product.
- Excitement and stimulation.
- Situational influence.
- Purchase in fairs, exhibitions.
The survey of buyers in Delhi suggests that only 60-70 percent of purchases are planned, 23-30 percent of purchases are partially planned and 10-20 percent of purchases are unplanned.
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