Post-Shopping Regret

This quote came into today on an email from the Henley Centre HeadlightVision. Dr. Michelle Harrison was quoted in an article in The Daily Mail entitled Beware post-shopping regret as saying ...

“Consumption is becoming laced with guilt. Going forward, I suspect that shoppers will continue to feel ‘I’m entitled’, but they will begin to feel guilty about overdoing it. We’re still a long way from women wanting fewer shoes, but I can see changes in the way we feel about shopping.”

The article talks about a growing phenomenon that is gripping the shires in the UK called Post-Shopping Regret - or PSR. The article was a particular dive into the world of dresses and shoes, but it got me wondering as to in how many other categories this particular phenomenon might bubble up? How many Apple iPhone users for example are starting to feel it now that their first bills are turning up from at&t in a box?

How far do we push our need for indulgence and when do we begin to feel some regret of our actions? By creating engaging and exciting store environements, discovery, exploration and theatre, could we push shoppers too far, get them too carried away and find we're growing a new field of opportunity for theropists?

So what do you find you shop for and then feel a twinge of regret afterwards?

Comments

[shaun]

Ah Ha, this is a fun one. Surely there is a role for something on the conveyer belt, and yes it could work, and here in lies the opportunity. The message and the medium should connect, so this is a creative opportunity. Where is the outline of ketchup bottle, the place holder for the new product with the interesting shaped package?
At the almost final experience in store, surely we should remind or even prompt shoppers that they may have forgotten to put something in the basket, and dare I say, perhaps we should entertain the shopper in this mundane store exit procedure.

And what if, that kind person who checks us out, could use their already existing tannoy system to get us that thing we forgot?

As opposed to looking at the problem of clutter, I would look at the opportunity that seems ot be missing in the in store environment - creativity.