Follow us on Google News (click on ☆)
"In the business world, the focus is often on using the phone to personalize promotions or influence consumers. We took a different angle of attack," indicates the professor, who led the study as part of a doctorate. He was interested in people's relationship with their phone and its influence on behaviors before and after purchase.
Among the determining factors of phone dependency, the researcher highlights the emotional attachment that people may feel. "The cell phone becomes an extension of oneself. It can be personalized to reflect the individual's identity and personality," emphasizes Nizar Souiden. He also mentions nomophobia, or mobile dependency, that is, the anxiety of being separated from one's phone.
Screen time, driver of unplanned purchases
To study the influence of excessive phone use on impulsive purchases, an online questionnaire was distributed in Canada, primarily to the university community, and allowed for the collection of responses from 463 people. The results are not generalizable to the population, cautions Professor Souiden, but they illustrate the phenomenon well.
Approximately 50% of respondents said they used their phone for 2 to 4 hours per day, while 40% used it for more than 4 hours. The researcher noted that the level of use influenced shopping behavior. "The more one is exposed to the phone, the more one tends to make impulsive purchases," he summarizes.
Among the behaviors reported, 36.9% of surveyed individuals declared they had impulsively purchased clothes, shoes, and accessories, and 18% purchased books, games, and entertainment services. Beauty and personal care products, technological devices, and home products were among the other impulsive purchases.
In addition to directly influencing impulsive purchases, smartphone dependency has an indirect effect on product returns. "An unreflective purchase will often lead to what is called cognitive dissonance or consumer regret. The more one buys things that are not useful for us, the more one intends to return the product," explains the researcher.
The downside of impulsive purchases for businesses
According to Nizar Souiden, companies should not rejoice in this dependency or take advantage of it to sell more, because there are two sides to the coin. "Certainly, there will be more sales, but there will also be more returns, which are associated with costs. The bottom line is not always rosy." The researcher points out that companies are forced to sell returned products at lower prices or even destroy them. "There is a negative impact on profits, on the brand's image and on consumer loyalty, not to mention the effect on the environment," he adds.
Currently, several companies "encourage" returns. "In their policy, they often say that you can return the product if it does not meet your needs," emphasizes the professor. He therefore recommends that companies raise consumer awareness before purchase regarding the product's actual usefulness. Another option would be to charge consumers for part of the return shipping costs.
On the individual's side, Professor Souiden recommends reducing smartphone use.
The signatories of the study, published in the Journal of Global Marketing, are Mona Khadija Baccouche and Nizar Souiden.