Topic+Three


 * Events & Conflicts **


 * Question to consider for research:**
 * What events & conflicts are shaping your issue at present?

The integrated global economy raises the opportunities of organizations to increase their seller power over consumers. The most prominent conflict shaping impulse buying at the moment would be the global financial crisis. This has especially been a crisis in the United States. The subprime lending crisis occurred when banks lent out mortgages to individuals who could not afford to make subsequent payments. Individuals could easily get mortgages without having a sufficient down payment to put down on a house. This caused a boom in the US housing market because more individuals where impulsively buying more homes that they could not afford. During the subprime lending crisis individuals would pay their bills on credit. This increased the amount of debt each individual if they could not pay their credit card bill. The global financial crisis was also felt around the world. There was a direct correlation between the US and Canada, which meant that whatever happened in the US, would be felt in Canada.

Credit cards are easily accessible, which meant that individuals could have a large amount of debt. Also, research has shown that “there is a direct correlation between debt and the amount of credit cards you have” (Yahoo Finance). Statistic Canada averages that there are 3.1 credit cards in circulation for every Canadian over 18. The more credit cards an individual has the more likely they are going to use it. According to Laurie Campbell the project manager for the Credit Counselling Service of Toronto, “People don't see it as real money and that leads to impulse spending” (Yahoo Finance). Credit cards make it easier for individuals to make purchase because there is no cash involved. Studies have also shown that "the average person spends 112 percent more on a credit card than he would if using cash" (Yahoo Finance). The ease of use of credit cards make it easier for individuals to buy on credit whether they have money to pay for it or not.

Research has also shown that marketing schemes of organizations included with personality traits of individuals are events that shape impulse buying. Individual factors include personality, emotions, and cultural factors. The individual plays a key role in impulse buying, which means that they inevitably shape the events of impulsive buying. The lack of self control and the emotional state of a buyer play key roles in impulsive buying. Organizations play on these emotions and lack of self control o to increase impulsive buying in individuals. They use marketing strategies such as “point of purchase, displays, promotions and advertisements” (Association for Consumer Research), to sway individuals in purchasing on impulse. For example, Wal-Mart uses a loss leader strategy to sway individuals in purchasing things. This means that they sell a few products at a very low price, but they keep those products at the back of the store. This means that individuals must walk through the store to get to the items that are on sale. This increases their chances of looking and impulsively buying other items before they come to the item that is on sale. These types of marketing strategies are events that are used by many organizations to increase their profits and increase the chances of individuals in buying more.


 * References:**

Shah, Anup. "Global Financial Crisis ? Global Issues." //Global Issues : Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All ? Global Issues//. 25 July 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. .

Warren, Michelle. "How Many Credit Cards Should You Have? - Yahoo! Finance." //Yahoo! Canada Finance//. 23 Nov. 2009. Web. Mar. 2010. .

Youn, Seounmi, and Ronald J. Faber. "Impulse Buying: Its Relation To Personality Traits And Cues, Seounmi Youn, Ronald J. Faber." //Association for Consumer Research//. Web. Mar. 2010. .