Buyer's remorse

Buyer's remorse is an emotional condition whereby a person feels remorse or regret after a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of higher value items which could be considered "bad" although it may also stem from a sense of not wishing to be "wrong". In an extreme situation, an individual who struggles with or cannot accept the possibility that they may have made a mistake, may be suffering from a more serious and severe condition that has truly little to do with "buyer's remorse".

Types

The anxiety may be rooted by various factors: the person's concern they purchased the wrong product, purchased for a bad price, purchased instead of waiting for a newer model, purchased in an ethically unsound way, purchased on credit, or purchased something that would not be acceptable to others. Psychologically, in the phase before purchasing, the prospective buyer feels the positive emotions associated with the purchase (desire, a sense of heightened possibilities, and an intimation of the enjoyment that will accompany using the product, for example): afterwards, having made the purchase, he or she is more fully able to experience the negative aspects: all the opportunity costs of the purchase; and the reduced purchasing power remaining.

Before the act, one has the full array of options, including not purchasing; afterwards, one's options have been reduced to two: a) continuing with the purchase, surrendering all alternatives, or b) renouncing it. So that before purchasing, one experiences oneself as acting in a virile way, creating a situation; while afterwards the time of acting has passed: one is deflated and experiences oneself as having been acted on by the former virile self; one feels bound by one's remaining limited choices.

Buyer's remorse can be caused or increased by the knowledge that other people will later question the purchase or claim to know better alternatives. Extreme shopping activity and any associated remorse is, again, probably a sign of some deeper disquiet and normal "buyer's remorse" should not be confused with the complex emotional dynamics of "shopaholic" behaviour, no more than eating too much on special occasions should be confused with a serious eating disorder such as bulimia. A purchase, unlike many decisions in life, is invariably either reversible or at least recoverable and should not be a source of enormous anxiety.

Origins

Buyer's remorse, when evidence exists that it is justified, is a classical example of cognitive dissonance. One will either seek to discount the new evidence, or truly regret and try to renounce the purchase. Buyer's Remorse has been suggested to also be related to one's childhood or time of economic hardships. Such times caused many to settle for simple needs where wants were never allowed or acceptable. Living in a world where simple needs such as food, shelter, and safety were the main focus disallowed one to cultivate a world of tangible goods of worth. Buyer's Remorse may not solely find its roots in doubt of purchase or one being unsure, but, may very well be an "old" deep rooted behavior manifesting in a time where money and ability to have more than needs is a reality. Such sub-conscious regressive behavior can be linked to a time when doing without was a way of everyday life. Thus, a major purchase or even a minor one may trigger guilt feelings for purchasing beyond needs.

See also

* Post-purchase rationalization
* Regret (decision theory)