Seventy-four percent of Muscovites opposed efforts to promote voluntary self-regulation in spontaneous purchases at markets, while 26% did not object to such innovations. Meanwhile, sixty-two percent believed that markets are steered by promotions and sales designed to push people into buying more than they planned.
A recent market research survey on impulsive buying among Muscovites was conducted by a research group and summarized for public consumption. The study highlights public attitudes toward how promotions influence shopping decisions and the appeal of spontaneous purchases in everyday life.
A large share of respondents—eighty-two percent—made impulsive purchases at least once in the previous year. Of those, thirty-two percent bought impulsively on a monthly basis, twenty-eight percent did so several times a year, twenty-seven percent purchased impulsively twice a year, and twelve percent reported weekly impulse buys. A segment of respondents even identified themselves as enthusiastic shoppers who engage in impulsive purchases almost daily.
The most common impulsive purchases occurred in clothing (sixty-nine percent) and household goods (fifty-nine percent), followed by cosmetics and perfume (fifty-two percent), toys (forty-five percent), books (thirty-one percent), and shoes (thirty percent). Price played a clear role: the higher the item price, the less likely it was to be bought on impulse. Smartphones and gadgets attracted spontaneous interest in seventeen percent of participants, other gadgets in six percent, and large household appliances in three percent of the sample. A notable portion of respondents indicated they could not recall exact amounts spent on sudden purchases.
In terms of annual expenditure on impulsive purchases, roughly a third spent about five thousand rubles per year, twenty-two percent around ten thousand rubles, nineteen percent around twenty thousand rubles, five percent from twenty thousand to fifty thousand rubles, seven percent about fifty thousand rubles, and ten percent around one hundred thousand rubles. Six percent found it difficult to name an exact amount.
Where these purchases occurred most often were markets (fifty-six percent), shopping centers (forty-three percent), travel or leisure contexts (thirty-one percent), and stores near home (twenty-three percent). At the same time, fifty-two percent viewed spontaneous purchases as a coping mechanism for stress, while thirty-five percent described them as a dangerous addiction and thirteen percent compared them to other compulsive habits such as smoking.
Overall, the findings reflect a trend toward greater consumer awareness and reflection when making purchases, a pattern that resonates with shifting attitudes toward shopping in many modern markets.