Research reveals that there may be a scientific remedy for buyer’s remorse: “cognitive effort”, which involves research, gathering opinions and exploring options before purchasing a product.
Consumers often experience less post-purchase regret when they use more cognitive effort, especially when that effort is easy to justify.
Post-purchase regret also relates to whether the purchase was in-store or online.
There are, apparently, two aspects of purchase-related regret: “I should not have bought this” and “I should have bought this.”
A recent study rerquired one set of participants to choose between two laptops, and the other between two pairs of jeans. Participants who spent a bit of time researching their options experienced less regret than the impulse buyers.
The level of regret is also linked to the price, i.e. those who bought a pair of jeans experienced less regret than those who purchased a laptop.
Participants were then told that, two weeks after buying the laptop or jeans, the same item was available either online or in-store at a better price. Participants were less concerned if they bought an item online and later found it cheaper in a shop than if they bought an item in-store and later found it cheaper online.
In the end, the amount of effort put into the decision making process must be justified by the importance of the purchase. A a lot of time and effort would precede the purchase of a house, but if the cap fits, buy it.