Hitting The Sales? The Psychology Of Shopping

Darwin’s theory of evolution: it’s not the first thing that springs to mind when indulging in retail therapy. That said, the survival of the fittest is the precise lodestone which underpins our shopping choices, making us buy things we don’t need – or even want. Think of yourself as a considered shopper? Think again.

Survival Strategy

We may not be rocking this season’s loincloth but our hereditary herd instinct hasn’t left us – it’s just been redirected. Like many evolutionary coping mechanisms, group mentality may have been a viable survival strategy against prehistoric predators but over time we’ve outgrown its use.

Physical threats of yore (not eating; being eaten) have morphed into equally imminent emotional fears with perceived social exclusion (the equivalent of being mauled) keeping shoppers primed at all times.

Not so kindly, today’s style stragglers are referred to as ‘late adapters’; back in the day, they would’ve been called ‘dinner’. You get the picture. Aversion to loss is more than just a free-form fear – it is central to natural selection. Combine this ancestral predilection with a dollop of stress and an itch for instant gratification and waddayaknow, we’ve got ourselves one hot mess.

FoMo

Flash sales, limited-edition merchandise, calls-to-action, for-one-day-only promotions, newsletter nudges and exclusive offerings all tap into our fashion FoMo (Fear of Missing out) – the angst of being absent from the rewards enjoyed by others.

And let’s be honest: no one likes missing out. Community and social bonding underpin our most basic human instincts, which makes being left to pasture a bit of a bummer. Retailers have cleverly tapped into this deep-seated anxiety, playing on FoMo’s infamous sidekick – regret. You either nail that sale or go home empty-handed, tackle that trend or live with being ‘last season’.

Fashion Pheromones

Admittedly, nothing feels quite like bagging some swag: the rush of pheromones to the brain, the seeming validation of your fiscal prowess, the tales of heroic sale slaying, the parading of your retail kill. Equally, nothing feels quite like feeling special: opening a ‘Just for You!’ email from your favourite shop, being tagged in a ‘Lust List’ tweet, sneaking off to a private trunk-show – that’s enough to get the heart racing and the wallet lubricated, dontcha think?

Conditional phrases beginning with ‘only’ (‘only while stocks last’, ‘only today’, ‘only online’) cause shoppers to see a prospect in short supply – and act as a panic button to trigger a classic feeding frenzy. Moreover, the idea of being left in the fashion tundra flies in the face of our evolutionary competitive streak.

Fads, Fripperies And Foolish Mistakes

Credit and store card interest rates, next-day delivery surcharges: all of these conspire to exploit our animal instinct – the ‘must-have’ mentality that has our closets filled with fads, fripperies and foolish mistakes.

Our desire for immediacy and its attendant gratification is what has us in the notorious ‘wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear’ quandary. The more instant a reward, the less willing we are to postpone its delicious thrill. Psychologists refer to this as ‘bounded rationality’. In other words, we have self-control until such time as we really need it. It’s when faced with the object of our desires that the brain shifts into reward-seeking fifth gear to make sure we don’t miss out. But when the buzz wears off, we begin to see things a little differently. Was that pair of drop-crotch harem trousers worth the splurge? More to the point, are you willing to admit it or do you prefer to rationalise your dodgy decisions? #denial #guiltyascharged