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from the I-love-the-java-jive-and-it-loves-me dept.
An international study led by the University of South Florida (USF) found that caffeine impacts what you buy and how much you spend when shopping.
The research team ran three experiments in retail stores – an industry that's increasingly been adding coffee bars near their entrances. In their study published in the Journal of Marketing, they found that shoppers who drank a cup of complimentary caffeinated coffee prior to roaming the stores spent about 50% more money and bought nearly 30% more items than shoppers who drank decaf or water.
"Caffeine, as a powerful stimulant, 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, the Frank Harvey Endowed Professor of Marketing at USF. "As a result, caffeine intake leads to shopping impulsivity in terms of higher number of items purchased and greater spending."
[...] Researchers found that caffeine also impacted what types of items they bought. Those who drank caffeinated coffee bought more non-essential items than the other shoppers, such as scented candles and fragrances. However, there was a minimal difference between the two groups when it came to utilitarian purchases, such as kitchen utensils and storage baskets.
[...] "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," Biswas said.
Journal Reference:
Dipayan Biswas, Patrick Hartmann, Martin Eisend, et al., EXPRESS: Caffeine's Effects on Consumer Spending, Journal of Marketing, 2022. DOI: 10.1177/00222429221109247
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @06:23PM
I'm shopping for coffee?
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @06:50PM
Stop being a persuadable meatbag. And bring a shopping list.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @07:03PM
"Tight budgeters beware"?
I would think that people who actually practice budgeting with their personal finances are among the most unlikely people to have problems with impulse purchases, with or without coffee.
It is people who don't have a budget that might need to beware of the coffee when shopping.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by deimtee on Sunday June 19 2022, @07:20PM
But if you're the type to occasionally buy scented candles and fragrances, you would buy them at some point anyway. If you buy them on this shopping trip because you had a coffee, then you are probably not going to buy them on the next shopping trip.
From a store perspective however, it makes sense to offer coffee. If you buy scented candles right now then you buy them from their store. Your next shopping trip where you don't buy them might be to a competitor
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @07:28PM (1 child)
Choice:
Wendy's Biggie Bag. $5.
Starbucks cup of coffee. $5.
No brainer.
Coffee!
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday June 20 2022, @05:14PM
Or:
$2 - Chocolate
$3 - 2-Quart Size Iced Coffee in the cold section
I mean, $5 per cup of coffee is ridiculous. There are all kinds of cost saving things you can do to get a nice cup of coffee. Starbucks isn't it and Wendy's Biggie Bag isn't doing you any favors.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Touché) by maxwell demon on Sunday June 19 2022, @08:33PM (2 children)
I don't think any amount of coffee would cause me to buy scented candles or fragrances.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @10:33PM
Straight male privilege and all...
Anyhow, I realise there's global inflation but what message are we sending to consumers about tightening their wallets? Spend less and retail stores close and their minimum-wage workers get fired - in a post COVID society where businesses just recovered after 2020's mega lock down.
Forcing people to shop at Big Online? yeah, nah.
Bring in a UBI and people will be able to afford their own damn $9 hazelnut cinnamon almond-milk latte with plenty of money left over for scented candles and shit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @11:02PM
Yay! More for me. ^_^
(Score: 4, Informative) by RamiK on Sunday June 19 2022, @08:37PM
Look up studies for caffeine and the BIS-11 impulsiveness scale and you'll end up seeing this sort of stuff: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352492816_Caffeine_Use_Disorder_The_Effects_on_Risk-Taking_and_Impulsive_Behavior [researchgate.net]
compiling...
(Score: 2) by looorg on Sunday June 19 2022, @08:53PM (4 children)
Sounds great. If this catches on I'm never going to have to pay for coffee again! Free Coffee! That said I don't think I have ever seen a store that offered me free cups of coffee as I roamed around or entered the store. That is to say I actually never really roam around in stores. I get in, grab what I need and then I get the heck out of there. Browsing the shelves have very little interest for me.
People like that should write a list of what they actually need and then follow it when in the store. It's not complicated. I write mine at home as I drink my coffee. See I can have it both ways.
How on earth can they draw that conclusion? The coffee might as well just not have anything to do with it. If the coffee didn't make them spend more or less we can assume that they intended to spend those amount or buy those items even without the "free" coffee. How do they link it to the coffee? Did the participants somehow indicate that they did not plan to buy those items but the coffee made them do it? I fail to see where it's the beverage that made them do anything.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @09:38PM
If it was truly random selection then 100 each of decaf/caf/water would be enough to do a statistical analysis. If they also compared them to the store's regular receipts then they would have more data, but also more confounding effects - people in a hurry might refuse a drink and also be less likely to impulse buy.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @09:48PM (1 child)
may as well mean that people felt jilted not getting real caffine and did less shoping. they should repeat with any pre-reward like chocolate and carob bars.
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Monday June 20 2022, @05:31AM
Maybe they were so tired, they just longed to finish shopping as soon as possible so that they could get either a rest or a cup of non-decaf coffee.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Sunday June 19 2022, @11:46PM
Indeed. I think this is a bunch of academics angling for free coffee.
(Score: 2) by fraxinus-tree on Sunday June 19 2022, @10:28PM (2 children)
My shopping is limited by my physical stamina. I go shopping when I am exhausted of work and I do as much of my shopping list as I can. The result? I have savings. On the other hand, I am sometimes out of cat food, towels, car insurance or socks. On the other hand, I don't drink coffee.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @10:37PM (1 child)
My shopping habits are limited to what I can stuff in my backpack since I walk to the supermarket/mall.
But with 5% inflation, unless there's something I urgently need, I try only buying discounted stuff - on a $60 grocery shop yesterday it said I had saved $40 - not that I would ever pay the full $100 price.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 20 2022, @02:56PM
Try harder, even the shoplifters can manage a cart.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @10:46PM
"Journal of Marketing" - the name just inspires trust and confidence, don't it.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 19 2022, @11:01PM
Just slide that tube up my ass and start the coffee pump!
SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 20 2022, @12:20AM
are going to make a fortune!
Try shopping high and see what kind of food bill you come out with.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 20 2022, @01:48PM
It's the piss you have to hold in that makes you impulsive.
You wont be shopping in a leisurely and carefree manner and spending time looking for the best bargains when you're bladder is about to burst 30 minutes after drinking that 600mL (~2.5 cups) mucho extra grande that you never needed or really wanted. Once you feel the transitional epithelium of the bladder stretching to the maximum capacity, savings 50 cents here and there become the least of your temporary concerns and you will impulsively snatch-and-grab whatever it takes to fill your list, check out, and get home asap.
Same with driving. All the shitty drivers you see rolling through 4-way stops, running red lights, honking at the drivers in front driving the speed limit, not signalling, etc. all have full bladder or worse, full intestines, and they are rushing home or to the next gas station to release the pressure voluntarily before it's too late.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 21 2022, @02:57AM
depends where you live of course. but where I live. coffee bars and tight budgeting don't make sense together. the price of served coffee can buy you from a third to half your groceries.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 21 2022, @02:23PM
Picking up on
(emphasis mine)
Is it the coffee itself or is it because you've been given 'a gift' and now feel you can or should do 'something back' for the shop?
Remember that this is why you get a bottle of water when you (try to) buy a car, it primes you to put your guards down. That what is the most expensive free bottle of H2O you'll drink in a long time.