We’ve all fallen victim to it at one point or another that is, the day-after dread of over-spending otherwise known as “splurging” or “treating yourself”; whichever term you use, it’s all one and the same. But, why do we do it? Why do we buy the products we buy? More specifically, why do we buy products we don’t need?

 Some of us blame it entirely on advertisers, especially in the United States, which is considered one of the primary over-advertised countries in the world.

 Truth be told, over-advertising in the United States has backfired on itself. According to the University of Southern California, the effectiveness of advertising is higher in Europe than North America primarily due to over-advertising and/or advertising wars. 

 So why do we do it? Well, our brains make us think we should buy certain products since we tend to believe in our own thoughts that usually go a little something like this, ‘I’ve heard of this brand before, which means that it’s popular, popular things are good and I need things that are good’.

 Now obviously these thoughts are not verbatim and lie more in our subconscious; however, we tend to stick by this policy regardless of quality or need.

 A study conducted by researchers at Germany’s University of Cologne regarding our method of deciding on an airline showed many choose and stick with the popular name even though researchers revealed negative statistics regarding airline safety; 67% of participants remained loyal, according to TIME Magazine.

 Thus, our brains are in fact the culprits even though we may choose to blame advertisers. In the end, we make the purchasing decisions not the advertisers.

 Basically, what I’m trying to say is pay attention. Be aware of what you’re purchasing and always ask yourself do I really need this? And why should I choose a name brand over a generic version when quality is not a factor? Wouldn't you agree?

 

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