Impulse buying strategies – ethical or immoral? Part 1

I recently tweeted a link to a post on Marketing Profs.  The post shared research conducted to inform impulse buying strategies. Findings included the impulse buying habits of women vs men as well as the effect of coupons and in-store displays. I found it quite brief but interesting, hence the tweet. However, it stirred a couple of followers and ex-colleagues. A debate ensued regarding the issue of ‘hyperconsumption’ and corporations’ responsibility to manage impulse buying.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to post for and against impulse buying on the blog. In Part 1 @_MattMorris argues that brands should focus on increasing brand loyalty and  frequency of purchase through the strength and merits of their brand instead of exploiting society’s weaknesses for a bargain.

I’ll follow up with Part 2 in a few days. Enjoy the guest post below and please add to the debate in the comments.

“A recent brandhabits retweet caught my eye, a blog post on Tips to increase Impulse Buying. I am not a fan of impulse buying, I personally find it a deceitful way of selling a product. I would prefer my brand sold on its merits rather than exploit a known human cognitive weakness. Exploiting and deceitful aren’t words companies usually like to have associated with them, which got me thinking. How does the impulse buying strategy fit within a companies corporate social responsibility (CSR) program?

As Andy recently pointed out in his blog post, Profiting from Corporate Social Responsibility, as consumers we are now more aware of a companies CSR strategy and will consider it before purchasing goods. Do we though consider the marketing tactics used to sell us these goods, and do they align with the corporate social responsibility programs being presented?

IKEA helpfully provide you a large yellow bag ready to fill, whilst corralling you on the subtle one way path, past a multitude of cheap Swedish nicknacks that you never knew you needed. All these emotional purchases are great for IKEAs bottom line, but they add to global Hyperconsumption. I must point out that IKEA does have a very comprehensive CSR program which after reading, does sound very effective. No mention of sociably acceptable marketing practices though.

Another example, should we be encouraging the supersizing of meals, considering according to the World Health Organisation report (2007) 67.4 per cent of Australian adults are overweight. Will that extra food be eaten or will it be thrown out, adding to the $5.2bn in food waste each year.

One tip in the blog explains that “…women tend to impulse-buy more then men “When Mom says, “Pick up some milk,” Dad picks up some milk, and leaves”. Now ignoring the sexist undertones, whats wrong with that? Considering we have all just been through the global financial crisis, perhaps people who maybe a little emotionally deflated can only afford the milk. They don’t really need that extra product, but because they are emotionally susceptible, impulse purchases can make them feel temporarily happy.

As a consumer, how does it make you feel to know that your latest impulse purchase was the result of exploiting a known emotional weakness and that it is part of the producer or retailers integrated marketing strategy? How does that fit into the companies CSR program?

Capitalism has its place, and companies need to make money to survive. Impulse buying may be one small facet of the marketing strategy, but if you have to use deceitful tactics to sell your product, then perhaps the company should check their moral compass and make sure its marketing strategy is aligned with its published CSR values. Yes it can become a moral and ethical decision, but isn’t that part of what CSR programs are all about? Think of it as a new product differentiator, ethical marketing can be a new section in your corporate social responsibility statement.”

A big thank you to Matt for taking the time to write this post.

Matt Morris is a Sydney based designer, finished artist and I.T Consultant and is currently undertaking an eMBA part-time at the AGSM in Sydney. While working at Landor, Matt was introduced to brand strategy and is now working his way towards becoming a Brand Consultant.