From TikTok Shop and targeted Instagram ads to Netflix recommendations and product roundups, our modernized business environment allows consumers to spend half their paychecks in just a few minutes.
In a recent Ally survey, more than one-third of shoppers said they may make impulse purchases to make themselves feel better, but only half said they felt happy after doing so.
To resist this harmful temptation, many consumers are taking an entirely different approach: slow shopping.
What is “slow shopping”?
Slow shopping is a financial trend that encourages people to spend and buy more consciously, focusing on more careful consideration of what they buy, why they buy it and how much they spend on it. Slow shopping doesn’t make you make impulse purchases as soon as you have a need or desire, but encourages you to carefully consider your purchase in order to make the best buying decision for your budget, giving you time to evaluate needs, costs, and value.
When shopping consciously, quality is more important than quantity – the opposite of impulse shopping. By doing this, you consider your budget and finances and view your purchases as investments.
Slow shopping is essentially a more deliberate and mindful way of shopping. It means taking the time to carefully consider the reasons for your purchases and avoiding impulsive or rushed purchases, resulting in fewer regrets and more money saved.
What’s in it for you?
Slow shopping helps you avoid impulse purchases due to emotions or fear of missing out on deals. This trend also gives you time to comparison shop, compare prices, look for coupons, wait for deals, and save for purchases so you don’t pay with a credit card that could put you in debt.
It’s important to time your shopping right, so grab personal electronics during Amazon Membership Day and Black Friday, buy new home appliances during Maytag Month, and buy mattresses and furniture during holiday weekends like Memorial Day.
You can wait until the mid-season or end-of-season sale to get seasonal items at a significant discount. It’s the perfect time to buy almost anything, and slow shopping can help you take advantage of the best shopping times and get the best prices, especially if you know ahead of time when certain discount sales are coming up, so you can prepare ahead of time by thinking about what you really need, how much you can afford, and where you’re going to shop.
Slow shopping also gives you more time to save up or accumulate credit card points as well as get cash back on essential purchases so you don’t even have to pay as much when you make a special purchase.
You can be more organized with your shopping, whether it’s saving for a car, a house, or a vacation to Europe. It’s a great way to assess your finances without going over budget due to lifestyle changes or social pressures. It makes you think about what you can afford, not just what you want now.
As people age and disposable incomes increase, there is a tendency to spend more money on luxuries that were previously considered unnecessary — a phenomenon known as “lifestyle creep”. In the age of social media, this spending trend can get out of hand as consumers see the luxury items and experiences purchased by their peers and begin to see these as a right rather than a choice.
A recent survey by Bread Financial found that 62% of Gen Z consumers admit to spending unnecessary money to keep up with trends they see online, and 79% say social media influences their guilty shopping behavior. The result is more regrettable purchases and waste.
Since social media and other social influences often lead to overspending and impulse shopping, slow shopping can help you get rid of this bad money habit and help you avoid FOMO (fear of missing out).
Escaping this harmful social media cycle is just one of the many potential mental health benefits of slow shopping. Spending hard-earned money more carefully than “shopping therapy” can reduce financial anxiety and spending regrets.
By pausing and saving money on unnecessary purchases, you’ll eventually begin to develop happier, more intentional spending habits instead of instant gratification and regret. Ask yourself ‘Why am I spending money on this particular item?’ before clicking ‘Pay Now’. Allow yourself – the real you – time to catch up with your first impulse and carefully consider your purchase. The practice of asking ‘why’ before spending money helps to integrate positive thinking into your daily life and consistently empowers you to take control of your money story.
According to a recent study by Intuit Credit Karma, 24 percent of Americans say their emotional spending (i.e., buying things to cope with emotional ups and downs) is out of control, leading many to overspend and even go into debt.
By shopping slowly, you’re less likely to let feelings such as fleeting pleasure, boredom, or frustration (the main reasons for emotional spending reported in the survey) motivate you to spend money you could have saved.
What are the downsides?
While personal finance experts point to the many potential benefits of slow shopping, the concept is not without its drawbacks.
Thinking through a purchase can be time-consuming, especially if you’re an over-thinker. You may miss out on limited-time sales or specials, which in turn may cause you to pay more when you finally decide to make a purchase. But fewer regrets and thoughtful spending far outweigh these drawbacks.
There is a real risk of missing out on limited-time offers, but these short-lived discounts should not be the main driver of your spending choices.
Deals are always available, so if you decide you want the item, just wait for the next sales cycle!
So are concerns about running out of inventory. You can always sign up to receive notifications when items are restocked.
Restrictive practices such as slow shopping can also reach extreme levels, so it’s important to focus on balance.
If you shop too slowly, you may find yourself becoming too obsessed with each purchase, even those you need to make.
Another potential downside to slow shopping is that it can distract you from exploring the root causes of your financial habits. Resist the urge to let personal finance trends get in the way of a more holistic approach.
As with anything, what works for one person’s financial situation doesn’t necessarily work for another. It’s important to have a plan when it comes to spending and saving, but ultimately you should focus on developing habits that work best for you. Slow shopping is a beneficial mindset, and I encourage anyone who has become a serial over-consumer to try to figure out when and why they developed this behavior, digging into the underlying issues behind the spending
Overconsumption may be linked to social pressures, phobias of missing out, the lure of status symbols such as designer handbags, or even the rise of a “small pleasures” culture. But there are deeper implications.
that early memories of money tend to influence current spending habits. For example, if your family didn’t have the disposable income it does now, you may overspend as an adult to make up for what you missed out on as a child. Or if your parents practiced “shopping therapy,” you may have used it as a coping mechanism or distraction. Uncovering how your money story began is the first step in beginning to contextualize your spending habits to develop personalized, effective strategies to avoid overspending.
What is the best way to implement Slow Shopping?
Once you’ve decided to try slow shopping to improve your spending habits and reduce frivolous purchases and waste, you may feel overwhelmed and not know where to start.
If you’re just starting to experiment with slow spending, start with one area of your finances – clothes, personal care items, or groceries. Make your shopping lists, evaluate and review them, compare prices, and then decide what you want to buy and for what reason.
You don’t have to apply this approach to every aspect of your spending right away, and you may have to figure out the timing that works best for you.
It is recommended to practice “values-based consumption” – buying only things and experiences that are in line with your values.
The first step in this process is to determine what is most important to you. For example, my values are creating generational wealth, nature and sustainability, experiences and truly beautiful design. Your values should truly reflect what brings you joy and purpose. After you’ve identified your values, use them to guide your decisions the next time you want to spend money.
Ask yourself honestly if a discretionary purchase is in line with your values. That way you’ll spend your money on things that really suit you and make you happy.
It is also recommended that a practical budget be drawn up with different categories that can be used for reference and prioritization.
Setting aside a percentage of your paycheck as ‘guilt-free pocket money’ is another easy way to stick to a budget while still leaving some freedom for entertainment spending.
Slow shopping is all about developing a sense of certainty and confidence – no matter what your personal needs are.
Whether you’re buying a new set of golf clubs or a big vacation, doing extensive research and understanding investments will ultimately be beneficial because you can determine which ones are right for you financially without spending all your money!
Keep in mind that slow shopping is different for everyone. Two people may have different timelines for slow shopping. Feel comfortable with whatever amount of time you need to make an informed decision.