Avoid that coffee before you shop?

Biswas and team report that “Consumers often shop online and in physical stores immediately after or while consuming caffeine. This is further facilitated by the increasing prevalence of coffee shops and also with some retail stores having in-store coffee bars and offering complimentary caffeinated beverages. . . . The results of a series of experiments conducted in the field (at multiple retail stores across different countries) and in the lab show that consuming a caffeinated (vs. non-caffeinated) beverage before shopping enhances impulsivity in terms of higher number of items purchased and higher spending. This effect is stronger for ‘high hedonic’ [pleasure-related, generally non-essential] products and attenuated [reduced] for ‘low hedonic’ products [often utilitarian]. . . . consumers trying to control impulsive spending should avoid consuming caffeinated beverages before shopping.”  An example of a high hedonic product is a candle purchased only for its scent; an ordinary notebook or a storage box is a low hedonic product.

Dipayan Biswas, Patrick Hartmann, and 7 others.  “EXPRESS: Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending.”  Journal of Marketing, in press, https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221109247