The National Retail Federation estimates 152 million people will shop between Friday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, up from the 138 million last year. That means nearly half of Americans will lose sleep, crush into stores and wait in eternal lines in order to take part in holiday shopping. But far from being mass synchronized temporary insanity, the Black Friday ritual has distinct psychological underpinnings.
Other than the chance to get a smart phone for a cent, here’s a look at why we all shop on the same day:
1) The crowds make us happy
First, a disclaimer: The vast majority of the subjects in these studies are women. Not only do women do the overwhelming majority of holiday gift-buying, Thomas said, the stereotypes about men and shopping held true for the researchers.
“The only time men were present, they were sort of just tagging along,” Thomas said.
Sang-Eun Byun, an assistant professor of consumer affairs at Auburn University in Alabama, surveyed hundreds of shoppers at Zara and H&M and found that the limited availability of goods in those stores excited the customers. Even though it wasn’t Black Friday, she said her findings hold true for any shopping situation in which high-value goods are scarce.
Ordinarily, Byun said, shoppers are turned off by crowds. But when crowds create a sense of competition — such as when hundreds of shoppers are rushing to collect marked-down goods — they generate a different feeling entirely. Competition creates what’s called hedonic shopping value, or a sense of enjoyment from the mere process of buying goods.
“At certain levels, consumers enjoy arousal and challenges during the shopping process,” Byun said. “They enjoy something that’s harder to get, and it makes them feel playful and excited.”
Byun said retailers can extend this feeling past the holiday shopping season by simply limiting the availability of sought-after products.
“Even small retailers can exercise this scarcity principle,” Byun said. “They can create a promotional strategy that has a high value for a limited time.”
Hence those two words ubiquitous to every car commercial: “Act now.”
2) Those who plan, push
Thomas’s research found that most women scoured newspaper, Internet and TV ads for the best Black Friday deals and planned their days extensively with their co-shoppers ahead of time. They then strategically mapped out their routes to hit the best deals first.
Loading...
Comments