The rise of e-commerce and online shopping has brought us closer to the malls and grocery stores without even taking a single step outside our doors.
Now, with just a click of a mouse or a tap on your phone, you can instantly select “Add to Cart” to almost anything you want to buy. There is also the added thrill of seeing new items to buy that you didn’t know existed and you needed.
Consumerism has even received its own holiday, called Single’s Day, every 11th of November (11-11), giving huge discounts and attracting millions of customers regardless of their marital status, with minor price cut celebrations every time the day and the month have the same number, like the 2nd of February (2-2), the 3rd of March (3-3), the 4th of April (4-4), and so on.
But the real question is, why does adding items to an imaginary cart feel so good?
Why does pressing add to cart feel so good?
Have you ever wondered why it feels good every time you click the Add to Cart button? It’s because a whole industry is dedicated to ensuring you click that button and hopefully proceed to payment and checkout.
Today, some of the brightest scientists become consumer psychologists. They study how people behave and use their findings to increase the chances of them spending money, including in the online shopping world. Here are some reasons why it can feel good to add to cart.
1. You have the motivation
According to research by Parker, Christopher J., Wang, Huchen (2016), there are two common motivations for placing items in virtual carts: utilitarian and hedonic. One motivates us based on our needs, and the other mostly on our wants.
Utilitarian motivation is buying a product based on its functionality and how it will be used in everyday life. For example, why do we need to buy clothes?
While hedonic motivation is buying something based on our emotions (generally for pleasure), like having fun, enjoying, or feeling good. An example is why someone would buy a Php10,000 shoe instead of a Php1,000 pair if it has the same purpose, right?
2. It can help you regain a sense of control
Retail therapy and shopping are seen to make people happier and have been used long before the Internet and e-commerce popped up.
According to research, shopping, whether physical or online, can really make us happier (or sometimes less sad) because it helps us regain a sense of control.
Generally, our lack of control over what is happening in our lives can cause sadness, and shopping, even just for a pair of socks, can give us back a little satisfaction of having control.
3. Dopamine is released even before buying
If you think you need to spend so much money to buy everything and keep your feelings high, there’s no need to worry because even the anticipation and the possibility of a reward is a reward in itself. It releases dopamine, or the feel-good hormone, from the brain.
So, just pressing the Add To Cart button can already make you feel better and happier. This is also why sometimes, while browsing your favorite e-commerce app, you suddenly stop because you already feel a sense of relief.
4. The anticipation creates excitement
The studies also mentioned that just browsing items or window shopping stimulates our senses and reduces anxiety as it creates positive anticipation about a plan for the future.
So, to profit from these findings of excitement, a product was developed to boost positive anticipation – mystery boxes that online shopping apps sell. The unpredictability and uncertainty of not knowing what’s inside will only trigger excitement, releasing dopamine.
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The importance of moderation
As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to spend huge sums of money just to get the benefits of retail therapy. In fact, the anticipation of purchase and even pressing Add to Cart will already make you feel good.
However, like anything else, there’s a warning. It’s important to understand that while there are benefits to buying (and window shopping), there are also dangers that you need to be mindful of.
Dangers of adding to cart too much
Ever heard of the novel-turned-movie Confessions of a Shopaholic? That is a real possibility for some people to be addicted to shopping without control, and some may already be undiagnosed online shopping addicts. Here are some issues that can surface.
- Financial Issues. The most noticeable negative impact of too much adding to cart is on our finances. If you lose control, you can spend more than you make, forget to pay your bills, and put you in debt.
- Relational Issues. Relational problems can arise from too much online shopping, like when you stop caring about others because you’re too focused on what you want to buy. There is also a risk of hoarding or storing things you don’t use.
- Health Issues. The biggest problem about too much retail therapy affects our mental health, like anxiety, always being distracted and losing focus, and solely relying on buying things for happiness.
How to avoid getting addicted to online shopping
It’s important to know the dangers of too much Add to Cart, so you can avoid them. Here are some.
1. Set an online shopping spending budget
You don’t have to be too hard on yourself to the point that you’ll feel deprived of too much. So, if you really want to occasionally shop online, you can do it as long as you only spend your allotted monthly allowance.
2. Add to cart, but don’t check out
Adding items to a cart can create the illusion of buying the items itself, rewarding you with a dopamine release. So, if you don’t have the budget to spend, just browse through the pages, add to cart, and log out. Just ensure you don’t overdo it because it may lose effectiveness.
3. Limit your social media use
Social media is one of the inventions that causes people to spend too much money since it is designed and optimized to serve you personalized and targeted ads that will cause you to spend money.
Influencers are also aggressive in promotions because of the sponsorship money they receive for an ad campaign. So, limiting your social media use is crucial.
4. Contact a professional
When worse comes to worst, don’t hesitate to call a professional. They are the best people to give advice about these things. You must look for warning signs that you’re becoming addicted to online shopping.