When I was asked if I would like to host a post about buyers remorse, I have to admit it piqued my interest. I am the QUEEN of buyers remorse. I even have remorse over buyers remorse! And yes, shoes are my greatest weakness too.
Anyone else reading this and thinking... Oh my God, this is MEEEEEE.
Take a look.
And let me know any examples of buyers remorse you have.
Big Fashionista x x
Wardrobe full of unworn clothes and shoes? You're not alone!
Have you ever been shopping (either online or in the 'real world') and bought something you just had to have on a whim? Then, at a later date, thought 'why on earth did I buy that?'
If you have, you're not alone. A whopping 82% of people in Britain have bought something and then regretted it, according to some new research by Debt Advisory Centre, who wrote the article you're reading right now.
And if you've felt your fair share of buyer's remorse, you probably won't be surprised that clothes and shoes top the list of regretted purchases. 62% of people said they've regretted buying clothes and 36% said they'veregretted buying shoes.
Battle of the sexes
Although it might sound a bit stereotypical, women are much more likely to regret buying clothes and shoes than men are (sorry, ladies!). 72% of women wished they hadn't bought shoes - compared with 48% of men - and women are over twice as likely (46%) to regret buying shoes as men (22%).
Why do we regret our purchases?
Half of people said they regretted buying clothes when it came to wearing them, and they found out that the itemdidn't fit or they didn't like it - or they just never wore it. 46% felt the same way when it came to trying on shoes. Another common reason is that we simply don't need these items, with 26% and 27% for shoes and clothes respectively.
What do we do with the offending item?
Once we realise that we shouldn't have bought the item, we don't always act entirely rationally. Half of us (49%) just keep clothes we regret buying - and this is even more common with shoes (with 58% just keeping them). Other popular options are to give away the item (20% clothes, 18% shoes) or try and sell it on to recoup a bit of our money (13% for clothes and 14% for shoes).
You'd think that the automatic reaction would be to return the item for a full refund, but this is far from true. Only 10% of remorseful shoe-buyers returned their purchase, compared with 17% of clothes-buyers. 17% may sound small, but clothes-buyers were actually themost likely to return their purchase out of anyone we asked in our study.
When does buyer's remorse become a problem?
Buyer's remorse might not sound like a big issue, but in some cases it can cause problems. For example, we found that 11% of shoe-buyers and 10% of clothes-buyers regretted their purchase because they couldn't actually afford it.
And, if you didn't know already, overspending is one of the main causes of debt problems - along with other causes like divorce, job loss and other changes in financial situation. If you've found yourself struggling because you've spent too much - or for any other reason -you should know that there is help available out there.Get some expert debt advice to find out what your best course of action could be.
Even if you're not at that stage yet, it's still important to assess the situation before each purchase. Look at it, try it on, imagine it with other items in your wardrobe and think: 'Do I really, really, really need this?' And remember, if worse comes to worst, most retailers allow you to return your item for a refund if it's not suitable.
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