According to the emotional view of consumer decision-making, each of us is likely to associate deep feelings or emotions, such as joy, fear, love, and even a little ‘magic’, with certain purchases. Also, scientists have found that shopping does make some people feel good. It is been reported that when a person shops, the brain releases the chemical dopamine. Dopamine is linked to feelings of satisfaction and pleasure and is released when you face new, exciting experiences. Recent survey results indicate that engagement in retail therapy is often driven by factors such as boredom and seasonal changes. As many as 66% of adults and 75% of teens indicate that shopping is a great cure for boredom, while 45% of adults revealed that the seasonal changes are the biggest motivator to go shopping. Customers are feeling both positive and negative emotions at the same time before, during and after shopping.
Previous studies have shown that consumers are influenced by their shopping environments which in turn influence consumers’ emotional states and purchases. The negative emotions consumers experience before the shopping process are soon forgotten when consumers immerse themselves in the shopping process and start visiting stores and examining the merchandise. It is unlikely that a random purchase at any venue will have therapeutically value for people feeling down. Their shopping experience needs to reward them. Emotional customers seeking are tail therapy’ should visit your shop to reward themselves. There are some obvious things a retailer needs to do to create lasting shopping experiences for their customers.
- Keep a wide range and a variety of products
- Keep products that are in ‘season’
- Make sure that there are always some items on promotion
- Try to create an atmosphere in your shop that will make the customers feel happy
- Provide the customers with excellent, friendly service and make the transactions hassle free
- Allow your customers to see, touch, rub, wear, taste and smell the products
- Keep your shop clean and tidy at all times
- Make sure that your shop is well well-lit and that there are enough cashiers at the pay points
Play music that put customers in a good mood and give them stylish shopping bags when they check out. It seems difficult to draw a line between ‘the joy of shopping’ and ‘compulsive buying’. Compulsive buying is described as a ‘addictive disorder’ whilst the joy of shopping is keeping our shops open. Online shopping has certainly evolved with time and most ecommerce stores prefer to operate via app rather than websites. Apps are more personal and you should look to shop form them only. App lets you shop for anything from anywhere and you get a personalized experience while going for easy surfing of products. App is more direct and you can filter the products according to your choice, taste and preference and also avail more suitable discounts than what available at websites.
