People are stressed, worried, pressured, and uptight when constantly living in such a busy and fast-paced world. Many people will deal with such feelings in a variety of ways, some more effective than others. There are many remedies for such feelings for like yoga, therapy, meditation, seep, etc. One potential solution to feeling stressed and uptight could also be retail therapy. It may not be extremely common but it definitely has its logic behind it.
Research has shown that 62% of shoppers have purchased something for the purpose of cheering themselves up, and 28% have purchased something as a way to celebrate. Even though money is tight for many, people are constantly shopping in today’s economy and some of those shoppers are doing it for the purpose of retail therapy.
In a story about a woman named Janice, after her divorce she went shopping for new bedding to get rid of thought regarding her old marriage so she could start fresh. She reported that shopping for new bedding following her divorce was “therapeutic” in her journey to move on. Although this is only an anecdote, it does show that for at least some, retail therapy can be extremely helpful in times of distress. To show that retail therapy is more than just an anecdote, studies must be conducted.
In a study conducted at the University of Michigan, 45 female students were gathered to watch a movie clip of a bullying incident. Following the viewing of the clip they were then offered to have the option of buying a snack. The participants were then asked how they felt, and those who took a snack reported feeling better than those who did not. In an additional test, participants were shown another sad clip and then were randomly assigned one of the two possible simulated shopping scenarios. The group that was able to chose more of the products that they like reported feeling happier after shopping. In conclusion of these two studies, shopping can lift one’s spirits, and the cause of that is having the ability to chose something that you like. Shopping allows people to “chose and restore personal control.” This can reduce their sadness and feelings of stress and anxiety.
This study did a good job of simulating a relevant experiment that clearly pertains to what is being tested, which is if retail therapy actually does any good. The tasks that the participants are asked to do are valid ways of measuring how much good can come from retail therapy. What could be improved in this study is the sample size and gender of participants. Only women are tested, which doesn’t give a wide enough variety of results to see if this experiment is truly meaningful. Also only 45 females is not enough participants to truly understand if retail therapy works. The researchers should’ve chosen a lot more participants to create a more accurate sample size of how retail therapy works.
Personally, I have participated in retail therapy and I have definitely noticed positive results. When I have been in stressful or sad situations and have gone shopping after, it definitely boosted my mood. It made me happy to pick out things that I liked and gave me something to look forward to, in this case wearing the new clothes I just bought.
Although retail therapy has its perks and can make one feel better, that feeling can sometimes only be temporary. Too much retail therapy can really damage one’s funds or credit, which will just create more stress, anxiety, and sadness. Retail therapy can be a good way to occasionally get some quick relief and enjoyment from feelings of stress, but may not always be the best solution to your problems.
I loved this blog and unfortunately admit that I have allowed myself to spend way to much money in light of it being “retail therapy.” However, in my situations at least, while I was temporarily cheered up by my new products, I was immediately brought back down after seeing my bank statement. According to a scientific study done by scientists in 2011, retail therapy is actually a result of impulsivity and a lack of behavior control. It is interesting to note that despite my own personal experiences, most people are not plagued with feelings of regret or guilt after purchasing items to make themselves feel better.
I love how all the girls are going to comment on this blog. It is defiantly an interesting topic. I believe you have to look at third variables to really understand what retail therapy is and what underlying emotions it is covering up. It would also be interesting to look at the negatives of retail therapy, meaning are you covering up your emotions. Should you be doing something else. Also, look at the stats between men and women, there must be some men who also use ‘retail therapy’. Overall, interesting topic!
I definitely agree that retail therapy can be very effective in treating people. Whenever I am sad, I don’t have a strange urge to go out and but things, but I will buy something if the opportunity presents itself. I think that it is because of what you said, “restoring personal control” You can go out and but something, which makes you feel as though you are in control of your own life again. Although retail therapy can be good for you, it is only good in small doses. According to the Huffington Post people who engage in retail therapy often experience denial. They end up drowning in credit card debt, but will not acknowledge it. I think that this is definitely a good way to make yourself feel better in the short run, but people need to be careful of the consequences if they practice this therapy too often.
While I don’t feel one way or the other when it comes to how shopping affects the person, I was really interested to hear the positive benefits of shopping as opposed to the negative spin it often gets on the news. Here is an interesting article that ties together the downside of shopping as the positive feelings wear off: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/05/compulsive-shoppers-boost-mood-credit-management_n_3709079.html
I agree. I really feel as if retail therapy is a real thing. The idea at the end really made me think. Although retail therapy has been seen to help people, if something very tragic happens and you go shopping, you may overdo it and buy too much for your bank account. This could negatively affect you greatly. Here is an article that hits the other side of your blog, how retail therapy can actually be bad.