Purchasing more or accelerating timing

Purchasing more or accelerating timing

Purchasing more and accelerating timing refers to those situations when consumers buy more than their immediate requirement, or shift their purchase timing as a result of promotions. When resellers buy more than their normal requirements, it is called ‘forward buying.’ Building excessive inventories in this manner often leads to stock diversion in non-deal areas. Another important repercussion of this purchase behaviour is that it merely shifts the purchases which would have occurred anyway.

For example, if a consumer buys more than the immediate requirements, then in the next purchase period, this consumer either would not buy, or buy less. In another situation, due to promotion, the consumer buys the refrigerator now, though the intention was to buy after 2 months.

This is purchase acceleration.

Another effect of promotion can be that consumers who have bought in excess of their requirements would be out of the market. Similar would be the retailers’ shelves are full. This can help in pre-empting the competition. Such acceleration in purchase quantity would also help in preventing brand switching, and in some cases, more consumption of the product.

The reverse may also be true in certain situations, i.e., negative acceleration when the consumers buy less or decide to purchase later rather than now. This may happen when the sales promotion stimulates brand switching. The consumer wants to try the product and buys a smaller quantity to reduce the risk associated with using something new. The consumer may also postpone the purchase of a product because he/she learns from some source about the forthcoming sales promotion or anticipates it.