Shopping Experience Research Booklet by Sunny Thao Nguyen

SHOPPING FOR FUN?

RESEARCH BOOKLET BY ID 426 CAPSTONE PROFESSOR VAHID VAHDAT SPRING 2023

SUNNY THAO NGUYEN

WHAT CAUSES EMOTIONAL SPENDING?

WHY EMTIONAL SHOPPING IS A PROBLEM?

SUMMARY OF EMOTIONAL SHOPPING

WHAT CAUSES EMOTIONAL SPENDING?

Consumption is a normal part of everyday life, but it becomes a problem when it’s excessive and wasteful. Buying things beyond our basic needs (and the pressure to do so in today’s society) is known as hyper-consumerism. It’s the never-ending pursuit of happiness through the acquisition of non-essential goods.

Why do I spend? 64%

Emotional spending is typically defined as buying an item you don’t need when motivated by a specific emotion.

emotional spending is prompted by emotions typically perceived as negative

Fear of Missing Out

What Motivates Emotional Spending?

47%

Americans Admit to Emotional Spending

Stress

Excitement

Boredom

Emotional spending is often associated with reward and coping. Many Americans have the habit of spending to celebrate something exciting, like a promotion. Others may shop to boost their mood, and many shop both to celebrate and cope with their emotions.

73%

Americans impulse shop and often overspend.

Said that they overspend

53%

Said that they never overspend

12%

Americans shop when they’re bored

11%

13% Americans shop because of excitement

Source: Coupon Chief

WHY EMOTIONAL SHOPPING IS A PROBLEM?

It is believed that the condition has an onset in the late teens or early 20s and rarely begins after age 30. 6% U.S adults (more than 1 in 20 adults) have a shopping compulsion.

Source: Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying behavior in the United States. Am J Psychiatry.

This age range is right around the time many young adults move away from home and establish their first credit accounts. Some research also suggests that women are more likely to be diagnosed with compulsive shopping disorder.

This doesn’t mean that compulsive shopping is more common among women. It simply means that women are more likely to recognize and seek treatment for a compulsive shopping problem. Additionally, men are more likely to view their compulsive buying as “collecting” rather than a problem.

Materialism

MOTIVATIONAL

Why do they shop?

Mood/emotion repair or maintenance

Emotional Spending Perspectives

EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORAL

How do they shop?

Unplanned buying

Impulse buying

Compulsive buying

Why do they feel?

Emotional shopping turns dangerous when we use it as a coping mechanism to regulate our emotions – hence the term emotional spending. Some people shop to mask difficult emotions like stress, boredom, anxiety and low self-esteem. But shopping will never be able to provide us with long-term relief from these kinds of struggles.

“Stress and anxiety are the most significant underlying causes of shopping addiction,” adds Sehat. Many people turn to gratifying behaviors as coping mechanisms, she says. “The endorphins released make the individual feel happy and less stressed.”

Emotional spending isn’t a disorder, but sometimes it can cross the line into one. Compulsive buying is considered a psychological disorder, where the person is unable to control their impulses, and purchases items they don’t need on an ongoing, obsessive basis.

THE EMOTIONAL SPENDING CYCLE

Feel a strong negative or positive emotion

Buy something to assuage or amplify that feeling

Feel anxious or depressed about overspending

Realise that you have overspent

SPENDING HABITS BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN

72% 68%

Women go shpping to find out what they wants

Men go shopping to buy what they want

Women seek out deals.

In total, according to PLMA (Private Label Manufacturers Association), women are consummate bargain hunters. They tend to buy more items that are on sale and they also shop with coupons more often. Men, on the contrary, spend more per item than women.

1. 2.

34% 28% U.S dollar purchases for women

U.S dollar purchases for men

Women spend more when younger, but men spend more as they age.

19%

Women under age 36 outspend

12%

Men under age 36 outspend

26% 27%

Men age 45-54 outspend

Women age 45-54 outspend

Women under age 36 outspend men of the same age nearly 2:1 (19% versus 12%). In the 36-44 age bracket, women tend to spend less while men spend a little more. From 4554, men have the slight edge in spending (27% versus 26%), and they extend that lead in ages 55-64. After 65, men take the cake.

Source: PLMA (Private Label Manufacturers Association)

3. 75%

Men largely stay away from the beauty and baking aisles.

- 90%

Women do the shopping in the beauty, baby and basic food categories. That includes everything from deodorant and toothpaste to baking mixes, dessert gels and syrups, and breakfast items.

When men do shop for items in those product categories, however, they tend to spend more on them than women.

Source: Wharton University of Pennsylvania

4.

Men spend way more in convenience stores.

57%

of the time that snacks, sodas, beer, break, milk and other products found in convenience stores are purchased by men.

According to Nielsen research, many brands are already attempting to take advantage of that by bundling items or creating themed deals that are easily seen by the male gender.

Source: Nielsen Consumer

SHOPPING BEHAVIOR ON NEEDS BETWEEN GENERATIONS

Generation X (1930 - 1980) is the most likely age group to impulse buy. Older Americans making most of the impulse purchases are settled in their careers, often have older or adult children with fewer financial needs, and likely have fewer large savings goals. This may be why they feel more comfortable making impulse purchases and even breaking their budget.

Millennials (1984 - 1994) are the least likely to make impulse purchases, and younger generations as a whole tend to overspend less often. This may be because younger generations are likely to have less disposable income. Often, the disposable income they do have contributes to financial goals, like caring for their family or buying a home.

$548.1 $357 $322.5

biliion annually spend by Baby Boomers biliion annually spend by Gen X

biliion annually spend by Millennials

How confident of each generations feel in their ability of achieving their finacial goals

81% 65% 54%

of a majority of Millennials feel secure in how they spend their money

of a majority of Gen X feel secure in how they spend their money

of a majority of Baby Boomers feel secure in how they spend their money

Overall, Millennials spending habits seem to reflect the generation’s priorities: convenience, a focus on experience rather than things, and a delayed start when it comes to homeownership and starting a family.

Source: Charles Schwab’s Modern Wealth Index

SHOPPING BEHAVIOR DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

It has been shown that social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to lifestyle changes such as sleep disruption, changes in eating habits, and decreased physical activity. The COVID-19 pandemic was found to decrease an individual’s perceived control of self, which in turn caused them to trigger uncertainty and awe among consumers, which in turn increased their preference and consumption of green products.

70

%

of people are shopping online more than they did before the pandemic

36% of them doing so ‘much more often’

44% of people expect to do more online shopping post-pandemic

Source: ESET Global FinTech Study examined the online and cyber security habits of 2,000 consumers in the United States

CONSUMER SENTIMENT ACROSS 45 COUNTRIES

Source: McKinsley/United Nations

“The pandemic is a huge stressor that has both contributed to worse mental health for a huge number of people and has removed opportunities for other rewarding social activities that might take the place of shopping,” says Elisabeth Netherton, MD, a psychiatrist with Mindpath Health.

35% Amazon’s total revenue for 2020 to increase by compared to 2019’s US$280.52 billion to US$379.87 billion.

As of 2020’s second quarter, Amazon’s year-over-year sales increased 40%

Amazon reported a near 200% rise in profits, accelerated by much of North America’s swift shift to exclusively online shopping.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE TRIED NEW SHOPPING BEHAVIORS SINCE COVID-19

% of respondents

“

Intent to continue

Source: McKinsley & Company COVID-19 Consumer Pulse Surveys, conducted globally Sep 18-30, 2020

A lot of people are stuck at home during lockdown. This leads to boredom, isolation, and stress, which are all major causes of emotional spending. Ecommerce hit record sales during the pandemic as people were unable to shop in brick and mortar in most countries and they looked for distractions and ways to exercise some sort of control over a situation none of us can control.”

SUMMARY OF EMOTIONAL SHOPPING

In conclusion, research shows there are many factors that influence consumer shopping behaviour including: mental health condition, physical environment, pandemic, men and women spending habits, consumer’s mood and impulsive buying. The research shows there are clear links between emotion and the amount of money people will spend in-store and online and this can help retailers to improve and develop the success of their businesses.

The rush of good feelings that we experience when we retail shop don’t last, and the feelings of unhappiness that we may be looking to push away can still linger. Stress and self-esteem were major triggers for compulsive buyers and the consumers who purchase compulsively feel an emotional lift right after shopping.

The underlying development mechanism of compulsive buying is the same in emerging nonwestern economies as that of in western developed economies, but the prevalence rates of compulsive buying are relatively higher.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Connor Brooke, “Consumer Shopping Trends and Statistics by the Generation: Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and the Silent”. Accessed Jan, 31, 2023. www. business2community.com/trends-news/consumer-shopping-trends-and-statistics-by-thegeneration-gen-z-millennials-gen-x-boomers-and-the-silents-02220370

Koran LM, Faber RJ, Aboujaoude E, Large MD, Serpe RT. Estimated prevalence of compulsive buying behavior in the United States. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163(10):1806-1812. doi:10.1176/ ajp.2006.163.10.1806

Maraz A, Griffiths MD, Demetrovics Z. The prevalence of compulsive buying: A meta-analysis. Addiction. 2016;111(3):408-419. doi:10.1111/add.13223

Christenson GA, Faber RJ, de Zwaan M, et al. Compulsive buying: Descriptive characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity. J Clin Psychiatry. 1994;55(1):5-11.

McElroy SL, Keck PE Jr, Pope HG Jr, Smith JM, Strakowski SM. Compulsive buying: A report of 20 cases. J Clin Psychiatry. 1994;55(6):242-248.

Murali V, Ray R, Shaffiullha M. Shopping addiction. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 2012;18(4):263-269. doi:10.1192/apt.bp.109.007880

Annual Retail Trade Survey Shows Impact of Online Shopping on Retail Sales During COVID-19 Pandemic. United States Census Bureau. April 27, 2022.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Spending patterns of Millennials and earlier generations in 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/ spending-patterns-of-millennials-and-earlier-generations-in-2016.htm (visited January 31, 2023).

Stephanie Horan, CEPF, “How Different Generations Spend Money”. SmartAsset. Jan 16, 2020. smartasset.com/checking-account/how-different-generations-spend-money-2020

Mehreen Siddiqua, “Men Buy Women Shop - Gender-based Consumer Behavior Insights for Marketers”, ZD Blog. Feb 26, 2016. www.zilliondesigns.com/blog/infographics/gender-basedconsumer-behavior/

“As More Men Push Shopping Cars, are Brands and Retailers Adapting?” Neilsen Consumer, 30 April 2014.

Charles Schwab & Co. "Modern Wealth Index 2017."

“Men Buy, Women Shop:” The Sexes Have Different Priorities When Walking Down the Aisles, Wharton University of Pennsylvania, 28 November 2007.

AEON MALL TAN PHU CELADON

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The Rise of Motorization

The first AEON MALL location, AEON MALL Tsugaru Kashiwa (Aomori Pref.), opened in 1992 amid growing domestic motorization. A mall with a large parking lot and diverse tenants offering a wide variety of merchandise in a suburban area proved successful from the aspect of town planning in attracting customers who drove to the store in their own cars.

Ongoing need to revitalize

“AEON MALL Tan Phu Celadon” is the first one-stop shopping mall in Vietnam which opened on January 11, 2014.

With its fundamental mission of retail business being the pursuit of affluence of customer’s life, AEON Group has contributed to the local community by the environmental and social activities to build a society in which people can live without anxiety.

With the major feature of the AEON and more than 120 specialized stores, we offer our customers a variety of products, services and a unique shopping experience.

DREAM KIDS

LOCAL FOOD FESTIVALS

SOCIAL EVENTS

COURT SHOPPING

ENGLISH CENTER

AEON is developing Shopping Centers that harmonize with local communities in and outside Japan. AEON MALL Groups are making efforts to improve the service and facilities in respond to the changing of times and environment and diversification of customer needs.

In Vietnam, under most innovative format of Shopping Center, AEON offer customers “One Stop Shopping” destination, where customers can fully enjoy their shopping time, not only for themselves, but together with family members for the whole day with many relaxing dining activities.

FOOD

SOURCE

AEON Vietnam Co., Ltd. is established and operates under the Business Registration Certificate No. 0311241512 issued by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, first issue on October 7, 2011.

AEON MALL Intergrated Report 2021, AEON Co., Ltd.