The reasons for shopping might seem simple: acquiring goods that provide enjoyment, assist with everyday life and activities, or meet a cultural expectation (eg, gift-giving). But the work of neuroscientists and consumer psychologists suggests that the motivations driving purchasing and consuming are more complex. Consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow, PhD, tells about the neuropsychologic influences associated with shopping.
Q: On the basis of your research and observations, why do we buy things? What are some of our motivations?
Dr. Yarrow: I just finished a new book on that subject, Decoding the New Consumer Mind, so a short summary might be hard! I suppose if I were to narrow it down to the one most important thing, I would say that buying usually involves relationships in one way or another. The motivation for almost everything we buy has something to do with connecting with other human beings. Even when it comes to practical purchases, the particular brand or product we choose relates to our connections with other human beings.
Q: What are some potential relationship-driven motivations to shop, whether conscious or unconscious?
Dr. Yarrow: There are so many. I think there are some very fundamental ways that people use shopping as a way to connect with other people. For example, our use of technology has turned us into speed demons when it comes to processing information. We want it fast and therefore rely more on symbols and visual data to inform our perceptions. We also look for symbols to understand other people -- what people are wearing, what they own, and what brands they attach to are shorthand ways of understanding and communicating with other people.
I also see a lot of people using shopping as a way of calming their anxiety. For example, if you're going through any life-stage transition, from getting married to having a baby, I think shopping is used as a way to mentally prepare and calm anxiety. As people go through the process of selecting products, they are mentally visualizing their new future. In a way, it's like runners and athletes who use visualization to enhance their performance.
Q: What techniques do marketers and retailers use to coax us into shopping and buying?
Dr. Yarrow: Without a doubt, retailers know that the brain capacity of shoppers, especially on Black Friday, is a little more limited, so they're going to rely on symbolic cues and sensory input to help guide decision-making. I think what consumers might not be aware of is that major retailers are really knowledgeable about how we process symbols, everything from colors to particular words. They use smells. They use music. They know that when people touch things, they're more likely to buy them. They know that things located in the center of a display are more likely to be purchased. They know all of these things.
Consumers don't, though. Shoppers think they're being logical in their choices, and they don't necessarily know, for example, that when they see red they unconsciously process "cheaper," or that when one product is located by itself, they unconsciously register "special and expensive." Symbolic cues, flooding the senses, eliciting a fear of missing out with bargains -- consumers think they're immune to these tactics, but I've seen very few who actually are immune.
Q: How do men and women shop differently, including across generations?
Dr. Yarrow: They shop much differently, although it's converging a little bit. Younger men tend to enjoy shopping more than older generations of men. They grew up in malls, and they're more comfortable with and acculturated to shopping environments; whereas it feels more foreign to baby-boomer men, and they're less comfortable with it.
Still, if you look at all men -- even lumping in younger men -- they tend to procrastinate a lot more than women. They also tend to be more impulsive, especially in purchasing gifts. And they respond more powerfully to rankings: things like "the best-selling," "the number 1," "the ultimate."
Anyway, if you go to a mall a day or 2 before Christmas, it's likely to be all men. I'm not stereotyping men when I say this. They're the first to admit it: "I hate shopping, I'm not going until I have to."
