80 The Urge to Splurge General discussion With three survey studies and one experiment, this study explored the role of mindfulness on impulse buying urges and behavior. By impulsively buying items we do not want or need, the environment is harmed more than necessary. Moreover, impulse buying is often accompanied by negative emotions such as shame and guilt (Yi & Baumgartner, 2011). Therefore, reducing impulse purchase behavior can contribute to preserving the ecosystem and is beneficial for consumers. Our aim was to study 1) the relationship between trait mindfulness and impulse buying trait, but also 2) the effect of state mindfulness on both impulse buying urge and impulse buying behavior. Our results show that mindful people did not have a lower urge to buy a variety of specific experiences and products on impulse compared to less mindful people. Nor did mindful people make fewer impulse purchases than the people who were less mindful. Interestingly, we did find a relationship between trait mindfulness and impulse buying trait. This might suggest that the notion that mindfulness can reduce impulse buying relies too heavily on correlation studies and self-reporting. Exploratively, we examined the relationships between each dimension of mindfulness and impulse buying (urges). Mindfulness is often operationalized as the sum of attention, awareness, present focus, and acceptance (Dhandra, 2020). However, few studies have been conducted on the role of each dimension in the relationship between mindfulness and impulse buying. We show that mainly attention drives the relationship between trait mindfulness and impulse buying trait. Furthermore, Study 2 indicated that the more accepting and present focused people were (as a trait), the less urge they had to impulsively buy sustainable purchases. These results may be explained by the argument that acceptance might not trigger self-regulation processes (Friese & Hoffman, 2016) nor the drive to better the world. Moreover, focusing on the present may make it less likely for consumers to consider sustainable options that offer future benefits. This finding conflicts with the overall assumption that mindful people buy more sustainable (e.g., Geiger, Otto, & Schrader, 2018) and would be interesting to study more thoroughly in future studies. Implications The literature on mindfulness and impulse buying presents a divided perspective. On the one hand, multiple studies show a promising negative relationship between trait mindfulness and impulse buying trait (e.g., Yiğit, 2020; Dhandra, 2020). Moreover, the four dimensions that comprise mindfulness (attention, awareness, present focus, acceptance) are suggested to positively affect self-regulation processes (Vihari, 2022; Papies, Barsalou, & Custers, 2012; Evans, Baer, & Segerstorm, 2009). On the other hand, the complex nature of mindfulness could potentially exacerbate impulsive urges and behaviors, such as short-term desires to eat (Alberts, Thewissen, & Middelweerd, 2013) and impulsive buying (Friese & Hoffman, 2016). These studies suggest a positive relationship between mindfulness and impulse buying (urges). However, to the best of our knowledge no previous studies have examined the causal relationship between mindfulness and impulse buying. Moreover, most studies on this topic have only used self-report questions, which may have led to self-presentation bias (Paulhus & Vazire, 2007).
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