Intervention study (Team Antelope)🦌
Brainstorming + Storyboards
This section will go through four of our brainstormed ideas for interventions. The order of these is meant to follow our thought process and how it developed, ultimately leading on how we chose the fourth idea for our study.
Idea #1: Geo-triggered reminders
The geo-triggered reminder system is designed to intercept impulse purchases by harnessing location data to deliver timely interventions when participants approach their frequent spending locations. Through a combination of progress tracking and financial impact visualization, the system targets participants’ motivation while simultaneously creating a moment of pause before purchase that serves as a behavioral trigger.
For our prototype implementation, we will leverage Find My Friends to create geofenced areas around locations where participants have identified frequent impulse spending (such as Coupa Café or the Farmer’s Market). When Find My Friends alerts us that a participant has entered one of these predetermined zones, we will manually send text notifications with targeted messaging. These notifications deliver personalized content that alternates between two strategic approaches. The first uses positive reinforcement, celebrating savings achievements with messages like “Great job! You’ve saved $25 this week by skipping Coupa!” The second employs financial impact framing, contextualizing spending in terms of alternative purchases, such as “You’ve spent $100 at Coupa this year – that’s a new dress or dinner with friends.” This dual messaging approach could be further complemented by weekly spending summaries and achievement tracking to maintain engagement and awareness if we find it effective.
Our intervention tackles behavior change in three main ways. First, it helps motivate people by showing them what else they could buy with their money – like comparing a month of coffee purchases to a concert ticket they’ve been wanting. By tracking where they spend and sending encouraging messages when they save, we’re trying to make saving feel more rewarding. Second, we’re making it easier for people to avoid impulse buys by giving them a moment to stop and think before purchasing, maybe helping them break that habit of automatically buying something every time they walk into Coupa. Finally, we’re using location as our main trigger point – when someone gets close to a spending hotspot, we turn that external trigger (being near the store) into an internal one (thinking about their spending goals) through our text messages.
✅Pros:
- Leverages existing behavior patterns and locations
- Provides intervention at the critical moment of decision
- Combines both positive and negative framing for comparison
- Minimal user effort required (passive location tracking)
- Easy to customize based on individual spending patterns
❌Cons:
- Requires constant location access (privacy concerns)
- May create notification fatigue
- Could increase anxiety around certain locations
- Requires technical infrastructure for location tracking
- May actually trigger someone to buy something by reminding them that they are there
Idea #2: Real time aggregated reminders
The paradox that we keep encountering is that students want to spend less, but do not want to miss out on social activities. So, spending less would mean limiting the amount spent with and on other people, but students fundamentally view social spending as necessary, justified, and important to their lives. This means that actual motivation to solve some of the deeper issues (more free hangout spaces and opportunities on campus, higher quality dining hall food, human desire for social interaction) is low, so effort for an intervention also must be low.
This intervention is designed to increase financial awareness for students with minimal effort required, particularly social spenders who frequently split costs, and sweet treat seekers who often discount small purchases when evaluating their spending behaviors. Many students do not have a clear understanding of their total spending because transactions are fragmented across Venmo, debit cards, credit cards, and different accounts, or because they ignore purchases under a certain threshold. This intervention provides an instant spending total every time a purchase is made, helping students see their actual expenses as they accumulate throughout the week.
For our prototype implementation, we will manually track participant spending by having them submit a quick text or form entry whenever they make a purchase. Each time they log a transaction, we will send back an updated total of their weekly spending. These notifications will be designed to reinforce financial awareness. They will highlight progress toward a financial goal in a similar manner to Apple Health notifications (e.g., “You’ve spent $75 so far this week—25% less than this time last week.”).
This intervention influences spending behavior in these ways:
- Real-time financial clarity: Instead of students realizing their total spending at the end of the month via statements, or never at all, they get immediate insight into their actual expenses throughout the week.
- Spending transparency for social spenders: Because social transactions often involve splitting payments or using different methods, a real-time total eliminates the “hidden” cost of social spending.
- Behavioral nudging at the moment of decision: Seeing an updated total immediately after a purchase serves as a gentle reminder and may encourage more mindful spending choices moving forward.
✅Pros:
- Students see their true total in real-time rather than being surprised later or being able to ignore it.
- Prevents some transactions from feeling financially invisible when split payments occur.
- For the north star of this intervention, there would be no need for the user to track anything as it would be integrated with their payment methods
- Creates ongoing awareness of spending patterns rather than a one-time reflection.
❌Cons:
- Since direct banking integration is not feasible for our prototype, manual entry is needed.
- Participants may stop logging purchases if they don’t see immediate benefits.
- Frequent updates may feel overwhelming if not framed positively.
- Seeing a constantly growing total may stress some students.
- A 4-day intervention study may not be long enough to draw trustworthy insights.
Idea #3: Emoji Spending Log + Social Feed Intervention
This intervention is designed to increase spending awareness through a low-effort, socially engaging system that transforms spending into a quick, emoji-based reflection. By logging purchases using just two emojis (more if desired), one representing the purchase and another representing how they feel about it, students can quickly track patterns without detailed budgeting. Additionally, seeing a live feed of others’ emoji logs introduces a subtle social comparison element, allowing students to reflect not just on their own habits but to see how others are doing without giving away super sensitive information. From our assumptions tests, we learned that people aren’t as open to sharing spending habits socially, but lots of spending is socially influenced, so by just using emojis, we are leveraging social accountability while still maintaining privacy. The social aspect also gives an incentive to log yourself–you only see other people’s entries for the day if you logged in for the day (similar to BeReal).
For our prototype implementation, participants will submit their emoji logs via text or a Google Form whenever they make a purchase. In return, they will see an anonymous feed of other students’ spending logs (spreadsheet of form responses), giving a sense of shared financial awareness. At the end of each week, they will receive a personal emoji summary, visualizing their spending moods and prompting reflection on patterns.
This intervention influences spending behavior in these ways:
- Since purchases are tied to emotions, students become more aware of which types of spending bring them joy, regret, or neutrality.
- Seeing peer spending behaviors helps students contextualize their own habits, potentially leading to more intentional financial decisions.
- Instead of budgeting manually, students passively track their emotions around spending over time, leading to more informed future purchases.
✅Pros:
- Takes seconds to log; no numbers, just emojis.
- Encourages self-awareness without judgment.
- Creates a peer reflection mechanism.
❌Cons:
- Some may forget to log purchases (could be addressed with reminders).
- A 4-day study may not capture long-term behavior.
- Needs an easy way to display shared data anonymously (Google Sheet, bot, or group chat).
- We would need to rely on friend groups participating to see the impact of the social aspect.
Idea #4: Tinder Amazon
Through our research, we initially focused on social spenders, assuming that they had a strong motivation to reduce their spending. However, after conducting interviews, it became clear that while social spenders may express interest in budgeting, they ultimately value social experiences more than financial restraint. Many are not in a position where they feel the need to cut back, making motivation for an intervention low.
Instead, we are refocusing our intervention on impulse shoppers—those who frequently purchase items on a whim, accumulate unnecessary products, and later feel regretful about their spending habits. Unlike social spenders, impulse shoppers actively want to change their behavior but struggle with self-control in the moment of purchase.
A key insight from our research is that shopping itself—the browsing, selecting, and anticipation of receiving an item—is a major part of the enjoyment. Many impulse shoppers don’t just seek the end product but are drawn to the experience of shopping itself. This suggests a possible intervention: if we can simulate the rewarding aspects of shopping without an actual purchase, we might be able to reduce unnecessary spending.
This intervention is designed to introduce a structured, engaging alternative to impulse shopping that still satisfies the desire for discovery, selection, and anticipation. Inspired by Tinder-style swiping and bracket-style decision-making, we transform shopping into a playful, reflective activity.
For our prototype implementation, participants will swipe through a curated list of items they are tempted to buy. Instead of making an immediate purchase, they will go through a “This or That” elimination bracket, choosing between two items at a time until only one item remains. Once they’ve selected a “winner,” instead of purchasing it immediately, they will be prompted to save it for later or add it to a wishlist with a future notification.
This intervention influences spending behavior in these ways:
- By allowing users to browse, choose, and anticipate potential purchases, it delivers the dopamine hit of shopping without triggering spending
- Instead of an automatic purchase, the bracket structure forces delayed decision-making, which has been shown to reduce impulse buying
- The elimination process forces users to prioritize and justify their desire for an item rather than making an impulsive choice, giving them time to reconsider
✅Pros:
- Simulates the fun of shopping without spending money
- Introduces a natural “cooling off” period before purchase
- Mimics the excitement of browsing and selection
- Makes impulse shopping more intentional and deliberate
❌Cons:
- Some users may still purchase the final “winner”
- Might not work for impulse spending on small, habitual purchases (snacks, coffee)
- This may not fully replace the feeling of purchasing
- Needs a mechanism to maintain engagement over time (AI-powered recommendations to keep the options relevant and exciting to the users)
Intervention study plan
Key Question: Can we reduce unnecessary impulse purchases by providing an alternative shopping experience that replicates the enjoyment of browsing, selecting, and anticipating purchases without the actual act of buying?
Screener: https://forms.gle/ddDdgvHwq1jvw4jVA
The goal of this screener is to identify participants who frequently engage in impulse shopping and have a genuine desire to change their behavior. Additionally, our study is based on the hypothesis that people enjoy the activity of shopping itself (the discovery, selection, and anticipation of a purchase) just as much as the actual item. By selecting participants who recognize their impulse shopping tendencies but still find joy in browsing, we can test whether alternative shopping experiences can fulfill this desire without leading to unnecessary spending.
Recruitment strategy:
Since this study will primarily rely on surveys and Google Forms, we plan to recruit participants through r/shoppingaddiction, a subreddit dedicated to individuals who are actively working to change their spending habits and recover from shopping addiction. This community is particularly fitting for our study, as its members are already motivated to improve their relationship with shopping and are more likely to be receptive to the topic. By engaging with this group, we can ensure that our participants have relevant experience and insights, which will provide valuable data for understanding the effectiveness of alternative strategies to manage impulse shopping urges.
Pre-study survey: https://forms.gle/39uH9ejguPBMoT8K7
Data collection plan:
During the pre-study survey, we will collect information about certain product categories that each participant either spends the most on or makes the most impulsive purchases in. This information will be used to somewhat tailor the following intervention to their taste in order to effectively assess how well this method may perform. The primary method of data collection for this study will be through a pairwise survey in which participants will select one of the two options and be left with a top ranked item by the end. After this there will be a short series of questions that will intend to measure both the enjoyment and effectiveness of this process in relation to curbing the urge to spend. Each participant will take this survey once during each of the four days at some given time when they are free.
Some options for a platform:
Post-study survey: https://forms.gle/hfiaDsUdbzEpECsV9
Email/Reddit communication: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FI7bUi6J4YfgDPkYIQkwZLJ5S3wR535u_bIEgdxAjj0/edit?tab=t.4a0i2tbjmbdv
