London - They don’t call it retail therapy for nothing. Shopping can actually make you happy, a study has found.
Treating yourself to something nice at the shops apparently has a “lasting positive impact on mood” and leaves “few if any negative emotional side-effects”.
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Researchers conducted hundreds of interviews at shopping centres as well as asking shoppers to keep diaries of their shopping behaviour, moods and buys they regretted.
Those who said they were in a bad mood on their way into a shop were more likely to indulge in an impulse buy.
A total of 62 percent said they had bought something to cheer themselves up while 28 percent said they had indulged as a form of celebration.
The study, published in the Journal of Psychology and Marketing in the US, concluded: “Retail therapy purchases were overwhelmingly beneficial, leading to mood boosts and no regrets or guilt.”
Selin Atalay and Margaret Meloy, the authors of the study, Retail therapy: A strategic effort to improve mood, said retailers could learn from the findings.
They said: “It is not suggested here that every retailer suddenly make a small treat item available at checkout to tempt consumers, or that mall planners strategically locate candy stores near every mall exit.
“What is suggested is that perhaps practitioners have it 'right' when they appeal to consumers with slogans that encourage them to buy themselves splurges.
“There seem to be positive consequences to buying oneself a small treat: one does feel better.”
The study did sound a cautionary note, saying that findings should be interpreted with care because the survey was 'self-selecting', because participants in a good mood were more likely to respond. - Daily Mail