Meaning & use
impulsive buying
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The act of buying something suddenly because you want it, without planning or thinking about whether you need it.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it has no plural and takes a singular verb: Impulsive buying is common.
Patterns
- impulsive buying of something
- impulsive buying among someone
- do impulsive buying
Stores use bright displays and low prices to encourage impulsive buying.
Her credit card bill was full of impulsive buying she later regretted.
Psychologists study impulsive buying to understand how emotions affect spending.
nouncountablebusiness
Purchases made in this sudden, unplanned way, considered as a group.
Grammar: Used countably mainly in business writing, often in the plural: impulsive buyings is rare, but 'such buyings' appears in academic texts.
Patterns
- a pattern of impulsive buying
- impulsive buying behavior
The report blamed weak sales on a drop in impulsive buying during the recession.
Marketers track impulsive buying to see which products sell best near the checkout.
Common combinations
- impulsive buying behavior
- The study measured impulsive buying behavior in online shoppers.
- encourage impulsive buying
- Apps that save your card details encourage impulsive buying.
- a case of impulsive buying
- The extra shoes were a clear case of impulsive buying.
- impulsive buying spree
- After payday he went on an impulsive buying spree.
- curb impulsive buying
- Making a shopping list can curb impulsive buying.
Synonyms and how they differ
- impulse buying
- The more common everyday term; it means the same thing and is safer in casual speech.
- impulse purchase
- Refers to one single item bought this way, so it is countable and specific.
- retail therapy
- Humorous and suggests buying to feel better, which is only one reason for impulsive buying.
Opposites
Word family
- impulse buy noun
- A single thing bought suddenly without planning.
- impulsive adjective
- Acting suddenly without thinking first.
- impulsively adverb
- In a sudden way, without planning.
Commonly confused: impulsive buying or compulsive buying?
impulsive buying vs compulsive buying
Compulsive buying is a repeated, hard-to-control disorder, while impulsive buying is a single sudden decision that most people make sometimes.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'impulsive buying' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Impulsive buying' is an uncountable noun phrase and takes a singular verb, so 'often increases' is correct. Option 2 wrongly uses a plural verb, and options 1 and 4 treat it as a countable noun or a verb phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “impulsive buying”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.