Joy of Shopping
We all love to do shopping but have you ever gave it a thought that why shopping is so much exciting… Let’s explore the joy of shopping.
Have you ever wondered why shopping makes you feel so good?
When you are shopping to buy a gift or get something for yourself, either way it’s kind of a treat—— but why, why this feeling develops into your mind. And why you feel happy & satisfied after buying something esp. for yourself or for your loved ones…?
A growing body of brain research shows how shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting our mood & making us feel better- atleast for a little while. Peering into a decorated holiday window or finding a hard to find toy appears to tap into the brain’s reward center, triggering the release of brain chemicals that give you a “shopping high”. Understanding the way your brain responds to shopping can help you make sense of the highs & lows of holiday shopping, avoid buyer’s remorse & lower your risk for overspending.
Much of the joy of holiday shopping can be traced to the brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental & physical health. Dopamine is associated with feelings of pleasure & satisfaction, and it is released when we experience something new, exciting or challenging. And for many people, shopping is all those things.
The level of dopamine pumps up also because you are seeing things you haven’t tried on before.
But MRI studies of brain activity suggest that surges in dopamine levels are linked much more with anticipation of an experience rather than the actual experience- which may explain why people get so much pleasure out of window-shopping or hunting for bargains.
But if we see the other side of a coin, dopamine can cause someone to get caught up in the shopping moment & make bad decisions. Dopamine may help explain why someone buys shoes they never wear. You see the shoes & get this burst of dopamine which motivates you to seal the deal & buy them. It’s like a fuel injector for action, but once they are bought it’s almost a letdown. Moreover, stressful holiday crowds, poor service or the realization that you’ve spent too much can quickly eliminate the feel-good effects of shopping.
Knowing that shopping triggers real changes in our brain can help you make better shopping decisions & not overspend while in a dopamine-induced high. For instance, walking away from a purchase you want & returning the next day will eliminate the novelty of the situation & help you make a more clear-headed decision.
And beware don’t shop when you’re visiting friends or relatives. The added novelty of shopping in a new place puts you at higher risk of buying something you don’t need.
But that doesn’t mean you should stop shopping, after all this is your brain at the mall.
So, enjoy your shopping.
Authored By Navneet Bidani, India
Tags: shopping
16 Responses to “Joy of Shopping”
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June 11th, 2008 at 5:14 am
That’s an interesting article for sure. But you could explain it better or would say it would have been better if longer. Anyway, a different idea, information, and article it is. Liked it!
June 11th, 2008 at 8:17 am
personally.. among all that i’ve read (there are some i’m left with), this is easily one of the best… keep it up buddy
June 11th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
gud one….atlest i do dat a lot!and y not…it gvs LOTS of pleasure.
and wat about endorphins? arent they supposed to be “hapy hormones”
June 11th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
I liked the article because I myself love to shop & after reading this article I came to understand the philosophy behind the joy of shopping
June 11th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
It was really a very informative article. I never gave it a thought that the joy of shopping is related with our brain & hormones. I think my wife would be a little happy with me as I may now start accompanying her to malls.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Hummmmm, I love shopping so do my sis, but letting her do shopping is very irriating, she always purchse useless stuff and I looses all money …. anyways, your attempt was really informative and cool….
thumbs up for you!!
June 12th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Good and flowing corelation of an ordinary yet extra ordinary experience with body physiology…Good job
June 12th, 2008 at 10:06 am
This is best explained in few words. The best part is it also explains its effects on the health and the timings when we should go for it. It is all instinctive and we hardly care about the metabolic effect on the body or brain. We are more excited with feeling of uncertainty, feeling of buying new apparels, shoes and excited how I would look with all those new things. For some Shopping is a stress buster, for some it is a social status to have all the brands with them, for some it is a time pass and for some it might be the urge to spend. They don’t care about what the MRI scan says. They are just busy enough shopping. I have seen people for which shopping is a dull exercise and for them all those MRI scan and brain mapping goes flat. Some people know the value of money and shop things that they require. For me it depends on person to person, priority to priority, and affordability to affordability. And truly speaking I go with my instincts.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Thanks a ton for all of yours appreciation.
June 13th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
i didnt know shopping was studied so much in details and its good u r one of them. quite an interesting start of a research. keep it up
June 13th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Excellent Article, I like it because I am a complete shopping buff and never knew the philosophy behind it. So In a way it’s quite knowledgeable for me. Great, keep it up!!
June 13th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
so now I know that its not that I want to buy everything that gets me excited while window shopping, its just the brain appreciating the variety of new things in front of me… thanks for letting me know when ‘not’ to splurge!!
June 15th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Keep the goodwork going
June 15th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Wow! Such a wonderful article, a true blend of information and knowledge.
I don’t think anyone ever had given it a thought that why people especially girls love to do a lot of shopping.
Thanks buddy for making our mind wander in a different direction.
Truly a unique article. Keep it up.
June 15th, 2008 at 11:00 am
good writing, i love shopping and do time pass in big malls, but there is no big mall in my town,,, . next time while shopping i keep in mind all bidanis thoughts in mind
June 15th, 2008 at 11:01 am
It’s a unique article, entirely a different way of presenting such a complex topic in such a simple words. The author had narrated the medical language in such an easy way that the words like dopamine can be easily understood by a lay-man. Good one.