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The holiday season always means you need to get some shopping done. People tend to buy impulsively (冲动地) for either an exciting product or an exciting price. Whether you are shopping online or in physical stores, here are some tips for you to control your impulses and stay within your budget.
Physical stores are often designed or arranged to be full of temptations. Basic or cheaper products are at the back of the store, where shoppers can’t access them without first meeting more expensive products. Some stores are perfumed because pleasant smell has been shown to make people more impulsive. But if you have a plan and visit the stores with a more defined idea of what you want, then these tricks won’t work on you.
Set up some rules for yourself. The Wall Street Journal recently followed some Americans into a grocery store, and observed their decisions. Some couples make a point of shopping together, so they can put checks on each other’s impulse. Others avoid using shopping carts, because they’re cautious of feeling the need to fill them up.
Another Wall Street Journal column advises consumers to wait 20 minutes before buying. It takes about that long to cool off when we find a hot purchase. The column also advises shoppers to think about what they’re giving up to buy the product ― such as the peace of mind of no credit card balance, or a vacation or a car.
Don’t shop when you are hungry or tired because we tend to confuse our needs. Avoid paying with apps or even using credit cards. When people can see real money leaving their hands it has a cooling effect on impulsive purchasing.
When you are shopping on line, spending too much time digging through reviews can lead to over-thinking purchases and obsessing over factors that don’t really matter, warns an article in the Atlantic, so don’t do that. Sometimes, shopping around helps us choose the better deal, despite what we actually prefer.
21. To tempt people to shop, physical stores may ____.
A. tie colorful presents to the goods
B. make the store full of fragrant smells
C. place expensive products at the back of the store
D. lay cheaper supplies near the entrance of the store
22. The underlined part in the last paragraph means _____.
A. continuously wondering B. eagerly looking for
C. quickly deciding D. timely ignoring
23. What can we learn from the passage?
A. 20 seconds before buying helps cool your impulse off.
B. Physical condition has little effect on impulsive purchasing.
C. Paying with apps or credit cards becomes more popular.
D. Shopping around may contribute to the better deals.
24. According to the passage, we can avoid purchasing impulsively except ____.
A. by studying online purchase reviews carefully
B. by going shopping with an economical person
C. by refusing the goods for sale in the stores
D. by trying to use cash to pay for the goods
