Short answer
Designers and marketers should consider the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour, particularly how personality traits can be leveraged or mitigated through product design and marketing strategies to promote sustainable consumption and reduce waste.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Discover Sustainability (2025)
- Method
- Quantitative research using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM).
- Sample
- 327 participants
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Understanding consumer personality traits can help predict and mitigate impulse buying of palm oil-based foods, thereby reducing associated food waste. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Discover Sustainability. Using Quantitative research using structural equation modeling (sem) with partial least squares (pls-sem). with 327 participants, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers and marketers should consider the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour, particularly how personality traits can be leveraged or mitigated through product design and marketing strategies to promote sustainable consumption and reduce waste.
Personality traits predict impulse purchases of palm oil foods, driving waste
Understanding consumer personality traits can help predict and mitigate impulse buying of palm oil-based foods, thereby reducing associated food waste.
Discover Sustainability · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness significantly influenced impulse buying of palm oil-based foods.
- 02Impulse buying was a significant predictor of food wastage for these products.
- 03Impulse buying mediated the relationships between neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and food wastage.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers and marketers should consider the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour, particularly how personality traits can be leveraged or mitigated through product design and marketing strategies to promote sustainable consumption and reduce waste.
How to apply
When designing marketing campaigns or product strategies for food items prone to impulse purchases, consider segmenting audiences based on personality traits and developing interventions that encourage mindful purchasing.
Project actions
- 01When researching consumer behaviour, consider how personality might influence purchasing decisions.
- 02If your design project involves food products, think about how packaging and promotions can impact waste.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Investigates the mediating role of impulse buying, a novel contribution.
- +Uses a robust statistical method (PLS-SEM) for data analysis.
Limitations
The study was conducted in Malaysia, so findings might not apply to consumers in other cultural contexts. The research focused on specific food types, and impulse buying behaviours can vary greatly.
Reliability & validity
The study's reliability could be assessed by checking the internal consistency of the scales used to measure personality traits and impulse buying. Validity would be supported by the use of established scales and the SEM analysis, which tests the theoretical relationships between constructs.
Think critically
How can designers ethically leverage insights into personality traits to influence consumer behaviour without promoting excessive consumption or waste?
Design Principles
"Design interventions aimed at reducing consumer waste should account for psychological predispositions, such as personality traits that influence impulse purchasing."
This research highlights the psychological drivers behind consumer purchasing decisions for specific food products. By identifying personality traits linked to impulse buying, businesses can develop targeted marketing strategies and product placement to encourage more mindful consumption and reduce waste, aligning with sustainability goals.
What This Means for Your Design
Your personality can make you buy things you don't need, especially cheap food like those made with palm oil. When you buy too much on impulse, you end up wasting food.
How to use in your project
- 1.Reference this study when discussing how psychological factors influence consumer behaviour and product adoption in your design project.
- 2.Use the findings to justify design choices aimed at reducing impulse purchases or food waste.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
Research indicates that consumer personality traits significantly influence impulse buying behaviours, which in turn contribute to food waste. For instance, studies on palm oil-based foods have shown that traits like neuroticism and agreeableness are linked to impulse purchases, leading to increased wastage (Lahath et al., 2025). This highlights the importance of considering psychological factors in design and marketing to promote more mindful consumption and reduce environmental impact.
Source
Discover Sustainability
The influence of the big five personality traits on impulse buying and wasting of palm oil-based foods
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about personality traits predict impulse purchases of palm oil foods, driving waste?
- Designers and marketers should consider the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour, particularly how personality traits can be leveraged or mitigated through product design and marketing strategies to promote sustainable consumption and reduce waste. Evidence: Discover Sustainability (2025).
- Why does "Personality traits predict impulse purchases of palm oil foods, driving waste" matter for design?
- This research highlights the psychological drivers behind consumer purchasing decisions for specific food products. By identifying personality traits linked to impulse buying, businesses can develop targeted marketing strategies and product placement to encourage more mindful consumption and reduce waste, aligning with sustainability goals.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers and marketers should consider the psychological underpinnings of consumer behaviour, particularly how personality traits can be leveraged or mitigated through product design and marketing strategies to promote sustainable consumption and reduce waste.
- What were the main findings?
- Neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness significantly influenced impulse buying of palm oil-based foods.. Impulse buying was a significant predictor of food wastage for these products.. Impulse buying mediated the relationships between neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and food wastage.
- What research method was used?
- Quantitative research using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM). with 327 participants.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2025 journal from Discover Sustainability.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing marketing campaigns or product strategies for food items prone to impulse purchases, consider segmenting audiences based on personality traits and developing interventions that encourage mindful purchasing.
- What are the limitations?
- The study used convenience sampling, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. The focus was specifically on palm oil-based foods, and findings may differ for other food categories.