购物冲动 原是生存本能？

Before the 26-year-old Indianapolis-based communications professional buys anything she asks herself a series of questions， such as， “do I need the item？” and “will it be useful in the long run？”

Once quite the spendthrift， Kumok blew through her budget， buying items on sale that she didnt need and spending too much money dining out. While she didnt max out credit cards or bury herself in debt， Kumok was spending above her means.

She now has a list of products that she absolutely will not buy， including books， notebooks and office supplies—three things she doesnt need， but used to love to spend money on， to the detriment of her bank account.

A big part of the problem： impulsivity. When Kumok moved to London for a year， for instance， she bought every guidebook she could find， including specialised titles like A Book Lovers Guide to London and obscure guides to specific areas of the city. She couldnt help herself.

Kumok didnt read a single one of the guidebooks and had to pay $150 in extra baggage fees to bring them home.

Impulse spending is a big problem for many people. A 2012 Bank of Montreal survey， for instance， found that Canadians spend， on average， CAD $3，720 （$2，987） each year on impulse buys. A 2014 Creditcard.com survey found that 75% of Americans had made an impulse buy， with 10% of people spending more than $1，000 on a single item. A Nielsen study， conducted last year， found that impulsivity led 52% of people in Thailand， 48% of people in India and 44% of people in China to buy something they didnt need.

Why are people so prone to making split-second money decisions， many of which are detrimental to their bank accounts？ And how can you resist the urge？

The scarcity impulse

Ryan Howell， an associate professor of psychology at San Francisco State University in California in the U.S.， said the impulse to buy， in part， is a survival instinct. Back in our hunter and gatherer days， when people saw something they wanted， theyd grab it， even if they didnt need it， because it was likely they wouldnt come across that item again.

“If you see something that seems to be running in short supply， youre going to get it，” Howell said.

These days， such scarcity isnt an issue—we can buy nearly anything we want if we have the means—but we often still approach life like our ancestors did， especially when it comes to a sale. When we see a 50% off clearance price tag， that scarcity impulse kicks into gear， Howell said. The feeling is， if we dont buy that item now， its going to be gone forever—or at least at that good price.

Theres another reason why people buy things on a whim： it makes them feel good. Scott Rick， an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan in the U.S. has found that the concept of retail therapy is a real thing. For some people， if theyre feeling sad， shopping will make them happier because it restores some control in their lives. Its making the choice to buy or not to buy that helps people feel more in control.

Some research has also looked into how touch impacts our money decisions. In 2003， in the U.S.， Illinois state attorney generals office issued a statement around the Christmas holidays warning consumers to be careful about holding an object as it might encourage them to buy it. It might have been one of the odder public service announcements， but research indicates that touching an object increases feelings of ownership—and we dont like to lose things that we own， Rick said.

This partly explains why we simply must have that car we just took for a test drive or why losing a house to another bidder can be so devastating. Often， the moment we sit behind the wheel or walk through a place， we want it.

But， we dont immediately hand over our credit card in exchange for car keys because theres a lot more work that goes into purchasing a vehicle or a house than a video game or a pair of trousers. In the case of the former， theres a built-in time lag between when we want something and when we buy， Howell said. “It takes a lot of time and effort to think about a house and to pull the trigger，” he said.

However， we still make bad decisions during bidding wars. Its surprisingly easy to drop an additional $5，000 on a house， even if its over the price limit you had set. The worry？ Its scarcity fear again. If we dont get this house， another one might not come along.

“There are a lot of physiological variables that go into a bidding war，” Howell said， including the fact that it is exhilarating and emotional to bid and win.

Ultimately， our bad split-second money decisions come down to one thing： we dont take the time to think. If that bidding war was done over days or weeks， rather than minutes or hours， its unlikely youd keep hiking up the price of that house， Howell said.

Resist the urge

Can you counteract your natural tendencies？ With a bit of discipline， its possible. Howell suggests waiting 24 hours before making any would-be impulse purchases， big or small. Of course， that means you need to recognise when youre being tempted. If you still want the item the next day， then buy it if you can afford it. But most likely youll have forgotten about it or the intense must-have feelings will have dissipated.

Another trick： start monitoring your spending and pay with cash. If you are able to see just how much youre parting with， you are more likely to end up only buying the things you really want.

Purposely over-examining purchases and ruling out certain categories of items altogether has worked for Kumok. By running through her list of questions， she delays her purchasing decision and thinks hard about whether she needs an item. She buys almost no books these days and instead checks books out of the library， buying only tomes she really wants to own forever.

Of course， the urge to spend hasnt disappeared. Just a few weeks ago Kumok walked into a store and saw a box of chocolates with a yellow tag on it. She thought the tag meant it was a sale and the familiar “buy now” feeling came over her. When Kumok got closer， she saw that it wasnt a sale tag after all. Would she have bought the chocolates if they had been on sale？ Probably， she said.

“Those little tags really do crazy things to peoples minds，”Kumok said.

这位26岁的印第安纳波利斯传播专家买任何东西前都会自问一连串问题，如“我需要这件商品吗？”还有“是否可以用很长时间？”

库莫克曾经是个挥霍无度的人，常常超出预算，买她不需要的打折商品，在外出就餐方面花费太多。虽然没有刷爆信用卡，不至于负债累累，但库莫克花钱比赚钱快。

现在她有一张清单，上面记录着她绝对不会买的东西，包括书、笔记本、办公用品——这三种东西是她不需要而又曾很喜欢花钱买、有损银行账户的。

其中一大问题是：冲动。库莫克就是一个例子，她曾到伦敦生活一年，一到那里她就买了所有她能找到的旅游指南，其中有针对性明确的，如《书虫伦敦指南》，也有对伦敦某个地方作粗略介绍的。她控制不了自己。

那些指南库莫克一本都没看过，但却要另外花150美元的行李费把它们带回家。

冲动消费是很多人的一大问题。例如，2012年蒙特利尔银行的一项调查发现，加拿大人每年平均花3，720加元（2，987美元）在冲动购物上。2014年Creditcard网站的一项调查发现，有75%的美国人曾冲动购物，其中10%的人曾在一件商品上花费超过一千美元。去年尼尔森的一项调查发现，冲动使得52%的泰国人、48%的印度人和44%的中国人买了他们不需要的东西。

为什么人们如此容易在金钱决策上鲁莽行事，而大多数决定对他们的银行账户不利？你怎样才能抵挡这种冲动？

稀缺冲动

瑞安·豪厄尔是美国加利福尼亚州旧金山州立大学的心理学副教授，他说购物冲动是一种生存本能。在狩猎和采集年代，人们看到想要的东西就会去拿，即使他们不需要，因为他们很可能不会再见到这件东西。

“如果你看到某种东西缺货，你就会去买，”豪厄尔说。

现在，这种稀缺已不成问题，只要有能力，我们几乎可以买到所有想要的东西，但我们仍常常以祖先的方式生活，尤其是碰到打折的时候。我们看到五折的清货标签时，稀缺冲动就起作用了，豪厄尔说道。这种感觉就是，如果我们现在不买这件商品，以后就没有了——至少没有现在的优惠價了。

人们冲动购物还有另一个原因：他们会因此感觉良好。斯科特·里克是美国密歇根大学的市场学助理教授，他发现购物疗法这个理论是可行的。对一些人来说，如果他们情绪低落，购物会让他们开心点，因为这让他们重拾对生活的掌控。做出买或是不买这样的选择让人们感到生活在控制之内。

一些研究还探究了触感对金钱决策的影响。在2003年，美国伊利诺斯州的司法部长办公室在临近圣诞节时发表了一份声明，提醒消费者注意手里拿着的东西，因为它可能会让你买下它。这可能是一份奇特的公共服务告示，但研究表明触摸一件物品会增加拥有的感觉——而我们不喜欢失去所拥有物件的感觉，里克说。

因此，我们试驾后就要买那辆车，房子落入另一个投标人手中会让我们如此难过，这就是其中一个原因。通常情况下，开过那辆车，走进过那套房子，我们就会想拥有它。

不过，我们不会马上递上信用卡，换取车钥匙，因为买一辆车或房子比买游戏机或裤子要复杂得多。在前一种情况中，在想要和购买之间有一段拖延时间，豪厄尔说。“我们要花很多时间来认真考虑一套房子，才会决定买下它。”他说道。

然而，我们仍会在投标大战中做出错误的决定。我们很容易就会多花五千美金来买一所房子，虽然这超过了自己定下的价格上限。我们在担心什么呢？还是稀缺恐惧作祟。要是不买这房子，可能以后就买不到了。

“投标大战中涉及许多生理变量，”豪厄尔说，其中包括，投标和胜出让人兴奋和激动这个事实。

归根结底，鲁莽错砸金钱可归结为：我们没有花时间去思考。如果投标大战持续几天或几周，而不是只有几分钟或几个小时，你就不太可能会不断推高那房子的价格，豪厄尔说。

抵抗冲动

你能抵抗自己的内在冲动吗？运用一点自制力是有可能做到的。豪厄尔建议在任何可能的冲动购物前先等24小时，不管金额大还是小。当然，这意味着你要在被诱惑时有所知觉。要是你第二天还是想要这件商品并买得起，那就买吧。但很可能你已经把它忘了，或者“必须拥有”的感觉已经消失了。

另一个方法：开始关注花费，并用现金支付。如果你看到你花出去多少钱，你可能只会买真正想要的东西。

有目的地多加审视购物行为，排除某些商品种类，这两个方法在库莫克身上可行。她给自己提出了一串问题，延迟购买，认真考虑是否需要。她现在几乎不买书，取而代之的是到图书馆查找，只买那些想要永久收藏的经典巨著。

当然，花钱的冲动不会消失。就在几周前，库莫克走进一家商店，看见一盒贴着黄色标签的巧克力，她以为这个标签是打折的意思，那种“买买买”的熟悉感觉再次涌现，但走近一看并非如此。如果这些巧克力确实打折了，她会买吗？很可能会，她说。

“那些小标签真的会让人头脑发热，”库莫克说。