06 November 2013

Shopping Motivations

Personal photo
This story made me think about the emotional link we can maintain with material items, which led to the question of shopping motivations. Why do we want new things?What are the motivations for wanting to buy something new? I have never been a compulsive shopper, and my shopping habits never really got out of hand (by my standards at least), but I have some phases when I just want to buy something new.
As an introduction to this new questioning angle, I have decided to try and analyze what have been the motivations for wanting to buy something new, regardless of what type of item was on my purchase list.

Matching New Needs

This one is the most natural and obvious one - buying new items matching a recent change that brings new needs. For example, buying new household items when moving into a new place, or buying new clothes after a major body change.

I have noticed though, that in my case it sometimes goes beyond needs - reassured by the justified "new need" I have tended to overbuy in the past - like all the stuff I bought when I was in Japan and that ended up so expensive to ship back to France. In that case, what I find to be most efficient is to sit down and make a list of the items I really need, to help stop at that.

The Change of Seasons

When I take a look at the peaks of purchase, clothes or otherwise, it almost always coincides with big seasonal changes (September and February).

I think in that case, buying new things is a way to celebrate the upcoming new season (especially in Autumn for me, as it is my favourite moment of the year). Most of these purchases may be avoided by enjoying more non-material aspects of a new season - taking pictures of the changing nature during a walk, cooking seasonal products...

Compensating an Insatisfaction

I remember it happened a lot with my DVD/books/games collection in the past. Whenever I had a argument, suffered an annoying situation, felt bad about something, I went to the shopping streets and treated myself with a couple of new purchases, to "lift my spirits".

I think it is a very common practice in our current society that teaches us material items bring happiness. In reality, I have noticed the spirit lifting only lasts for a very short while. Now, when I feel a little down for some reason, I tend to treat myself with pleasant activities instead of items: a glass of fine wine with a book or game, going out for a walk, meeting with friends, offering myself a good restaurant or hammam treat...

Wanting to Initiate Change

This one has been a big source of purchases for me these past few years. When I first questioned my appearance and life in spring 2011, my first reaction was to ditch most of my closet and buy tons of new things, even though I hadn't figured out my style yet. As if buying and wearing new things would make the change happen, or serve as a symbol that the change was indeed happening. Needless to say, not only did I spend more money than I'd like, most of these items ended up being purchase mistakes.

This situation is tricky, because it is natural to want to mark a change with something, and in a way, buying material items to symbolize change also catalyzes it and can create the dynamic of change. However, it can also be a lure, as in thinking "I have bought this and that so I have changed" and not changing the real elements of our lives. A bit like decluttering for the sake of decluttering, but without changing one's mindset and buying everything back in the following weeks.

What I did for this one is, when I am in a questioning phase and want to make a change, I allow myself one symbolic purchase, but then make some actual changes in my life before buying anything else. For example, when I decided to start running again last year, I purchased a generic set of running gear as a symbol of my resolve, but decided to wait until the running habit was firmly implemented before buying any more running gear.

Wanting to Create Memories

This has been a major shopping motivation for me lately - when I went to visit museums, exhibitions or monuments, when I traveled or spent quality time with friends I didn't meet often, I always ended up buying things to "remember that moment". Since there is always a shop at the end of exhibitions, and you often have to go through it to get to the exit, I have purchased one thing each time I visited something this year, and each time I went shopping with friends.

I don't think there is anything wrong with buying souvenirs, and I'm happy with my purchases, but there is more than objects to remember good moments - pictures, keeping in touch with people and creating fond memories together. Another thing I've learned to do is to keep "to buy" things under my sleeve and, instead of buying them alone, use the occation of a friend's visit to go and buy it together.

Because I Entered the Shop

When I first arrived in Paris, I did a lot of sightseeing into the city, which involves walking in the streets, and entering some shops I used to visit when I lived in Lyon - because these are only available in Paris. After a few weeks, I realized I always came back from these little trips with a new candle here, a new scarf there.

The problem is, doing that once a year when I visited Paris was one thing, doing it every week-end because I live 10mn away from le Marais is quite another. I have managed to curb this tendency as I found other activities to do in the week-end (visiting museums, reading books, writing short stories, playing the violin, meeting with friends...)

Craving for Novelty

Sometimes, I just want new things because I'm bored with my current state of affairs.  When I lived in a bigger appartment, I used to modify the position of furniture at least once a year, and, once every six months or so, I went on an Ikea trip and came back with a new rug here, a new vase there. It wasn't very expensive but answered a need for change in everyday routine. After 10 years in my Lyon appartment, I have quite a few pieces of decoration that ended up sitting uselessy in the cellar, so I decided I needed to work on it.

Since I am in Paris, the size of my appartment doesn't allow for furniture moving, nor for much new decoration, so I noticed I started to compensate with clothing. I think it is a point I really need to work on, because the need for novetly in itself is probably never going to disappear, but if I buy new stuff every time I crave for a routine change, I will keep accumulating stuff on the long term and that's what I've been working on avoiding these past two years.

I have started to find some solutions to this need of regular change in my surroundings.  For example in my appartment, I decided to buy more "consumables" to alter the decoration temporarily, like beautiful candles, or a bunch of fresh flowers. I need to work on a balance - I am a moderate person and I believe that overbuying isn't good, but total deprivation isn't good either.


In the end, I think it is all about having a healthy relation to purchasing habits and budget, avoiding artificial restraint and consumerist splurges alike, and restore consumption to what it is supposed to be: using money as a tool to buy objects which serve a purpose. Defining that balance will probably be one of my main focus for 2014. What about you? What are your motivations for shopping? Are you satisfied with your current purchase habits or are there some things you'd like to improve?

19 comments:

  1. My motivation simply stems from the enjoyment of seeking out new things or bettering the things I already have. Not always bettering even, I also like variations on a theme. I have grey cashmere jumpers in all kinds of styles but they all serve different purposes for different looks and different days. And I will probably always continue to buy them - it seems to be a habit I cannot break. And let's not forget that fashion itself is a powerful force which one can be swept along with (me in particular) though I usually come back down and find myself coming back to the same old same old pieces with a little bit of longevity. In that, I take comfort and that all is not lost.

    By the way - lovely photo. Beautiful colours.

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    1. It is true that the construction of a collection of items can be a reason to purchase in itself, it has also been a reason for me these past years as I worked on my style. I even find it more enjoyable when you know yourself well and know what works best.

      Thanks for th compliment on the photo, I'm trying to post more personal photos on the blog now that I have a proper camera, even if I'm still a beginner...

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    2. Keep going with your photography, Kali! I like the way you captured the texture of the sweater.

      I can definitely identify several themes in my own shopping as of late--it's a mixture of new needs and craving novelty. Going from a job that had a uniform to one with business casual dressing necessitated a major wardrobe resupply. Now that I'm at about 80% with that wardrobe, I'm buying random shirts to mix up my generally all-blue theme (like right now, I'm testing out plaid for fall and winter.) I'm ok with that, but I think sometimes those types of purchases make me unable to spend on "weak areas" of my clothing (I think you wrote a post about that re: pants.) I think if I exercised a little more mindfulness in the random restocking of my wardrobe (especially with shirts, of which I have more than enough) then I can have spending capital for needed coats or shoes.

      All in all, this is a splendid post to remind us to be more introspective about our motivations and desires. Thank you for the great read!

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  2. My list quite similar, and a lot has to do with how I associate material things with happiness and satisfaction, to an extent.

    My biggest problem is shopping when I am stressed and pissed off; I'll usually buy something on impulse to cheer myself up and this is so easy when there's online shopping!

    I also shop when I get good news, like a raise or a promotion, because I want to reward myself.

    I also tend to feel like shopping when there's a change of season in the shops - when all the window displays change everything looks interesting and fresh and I get carried away by the effective marketing.

    I also tend to create "new needs" when I'm bored - I've been obsessed with trousers lately. I usually wear jeans and also have a few pairs of casual ones that are fine but I crave a perfectly tailored, elegant pair, just like how I want a perfectly tailored jacket. I tend to forget these after a while because I don't need them but from time to time, perhaps out of boredom, they pop back up.

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    1. Ah, boredom is a good point! I have a lot of activities in my life but sometimes, I'm just wandering aimlessly on the internet, and that's true that I end up shuffling around online stores and blog archives and creating new needs for my home or closet... But it is true that they are often forgotten once activities start again. That's the kind of stuff I put on my unticked list, and if after several weeks or months I'm still thinking about it, then maybe I'm really on to something... I hope you have luck in finding your tailored jacket!

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  3. Ah, your list resonates with me a lot! I was recently inspired to start a shopping fast as a way of reevaluating and curating my closet and have realized that clothing shopping mostly functions as a way for me to push away my emotions rather than recognizing and dealing with them directly. This motive has resulted in quite a few purchase regrets. In the future, I hope to be more mindful of why I am buying an item-- does it stem from a need to fill a specific wardrobe void, a need to mask a negative feeling, or a need to fill time? Anyways, thank you for sharing your list, it gives me a lot of food for thought :)
    Alma

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    1. Shopping fasts, successful or with slips, are a great teacher to what lies beyond the simple wardrobe items and purchase habits. Even though I only fasted for 2 months I learned a lot about myself during that period. I'm considering doing a winter fast this end of year to gather more thoughts on simplicity and how to handle a successfully reconstructed wardrobe. I went to take a look at your new blog, I like the concept a lot, I'll probably be following around in the future. Besides, it is always a source of inspiration to take a look at other petite women :)

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  4. love how incredibly self-aware you are. i need to do some similar self-reflecting in the future. at this point in my life, the only big focus is to find a job and transition into it. i'm trying not to buy so much since i have little idea what industry i am in so i should really keep this in mind and stop buying so much "college" clothes! i think once i'm settled, i really (should) be good for a while.

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    1. Transition between univsersity and active life is a pivotal moment of life, enjoy it! It is normal that it takes up a lot of energy from you though, I guess it will be your main mental focus until you settle down. I find that writing blog posts about these subjects actually helps becoming more self aware of these things. When I started working on the draft of this post, there were only a couple of shopping motivations I thought about. And as I wrote on and thought about my latest purchases, others popped up. I find writing to be very revealing and helpful :)

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  5. I can definitely relate. What I've tried to do, is to get that "new" feeling from items I have to buy anyway - like groceries. I really enjoy cooking so trying out new recipes and buying the groceries for it fulfills that kind of need for me. Food is consumable and a necessary expense so I don't feel guilty at all. I try to stay away from recipes that require novelty items though so I don't end up cluttering my pantry with too many odds and ends (I still have too many spices).

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    1. I've never considered this, drifting the "new" feeling from material items to day to day spendings like groceries. Thanks for the tip, it's a very good idea! I guess this can also work with "consumables" like flowers, candles, incense stickes, tea leaves...

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  6. this is so perceptive and well articulated, and very useful to have laid out like this. the majority of my shopping used to be motivated by what you call 'compensating an insatisfaction' - there was a lot of things in my life that I was unhappy and frustrated with and I was trying to make myself feel better by buying cheap things which were exciting only for a few weeks. they only served to make me miserable in the end. I'm glad to say my life is much happier and more ordered now and my buying habits have altered accordingly. I, like you, still crave for novelty and the occasional cheap thrill, but the majority of my purchases are now for much more practical and considered reasons.

    it's sort of a chicken/egg situation - I don't know whether my life has altered for the better because I got a handle on my buying habits, or if I managed to get a handle on my buying habits because my life is better! a bit of both, I suspect. what an interesting relationship we have with the things we do and don't buy, I find it endlessly fascinating :)

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    1. It is true that is it s sort of "chicken and egg situation", sometimes I wonder if reassessing my shopping habits made me feel better or if feeling better in the first place made the changes possible. I guess it is a virtuous circle in the end - you buy less/better, you feel good about this, feel better in your life, which helps in turn make further changes... Thank you for sharing your experience, it is interesting to see other people's shopping motivations as well.

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  7. Such a detailed analysis of the "why" for shopping, I love it! I certainly agree with a few of these, and I've found that the fresh flowers for the apartment trick works well when I need a change. Besides, fresh flowers on the kitchen table just make my day a little brighter :)

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    1. It does, doesn't it? There is nothing like colourful fresh flowers with a discreet scent to lighten up a room :)

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  8. Late to the comments party, but hey ho, that's how I roll these days :) I can relate to all of this. With me it is so obvious that especially online shopping is linked to my emotions - if I am angry or upset I can spent entire evenings online looking for The Perfect Whatever just to distract myself. The other night I spent hours on the purse forum looking at Louis Vuitton bags in a fit of rage-y PMS. Luckily I usually don't end up buying anything, but it is still not a very healthy habit!

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    1. You're right, "distraction" is a very accurate shopping motivation! It's so easy to start browsing when you're kinda bored and don't want to think too much... I guess it's all about changing habits, train ourselves to distract ourselves with somehing else.

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  9. Un exercice qu'il faudra que je fasse en décembre tient, voir un peu quels ont été les déclencheurs de mes achats pour 2013 ! :) Pour le moment, j'ai peu de souvenirs quant à une éventuelle erreur d'acquisitions pour cette année, preuve à mes yeux que j'ai su mieux me connaitre au fil du temps, savoir quand les raisons sont valables ou non. Je n'ai jamais été une acheteuse compulsive non plus, mais je me reconnais dans certaines des raisons que tu cites dans ton article, en particulier conforter les nouvelles envies, l'initiation au changement (championne pour ça, j'ai parfois tendance à vouloir toute la panoplie avant de commencer quoi que ce soit. Un beau leurre, puisqu'au final ça ne fait que reculer la date où je dois vraiment me mettre à la dite chose!) et l'envie de nouveauté...
    ma technique du moment : noter toutes mes envies un peu en vrac quand elles viennent dans mon carnet, et en début de chaque mois faire un tour sur ces listes pour gérer mes achats du mois. Ca peut faire un peu psychorigique comme ça, mais en fait non : la plupart du temps l'envie s'est envolée, ça me permet de gérer mon budget raisonnablement et j'y vois plus clair dans pas mal de choses. Et si une nouvelle envie plus "urgente" pointe son nez, je peux m'arranger avec ce que j'avais planifié.
    La contrepartie des ces années d'interrogation? J'ai du mal à m'autoriser des achats parfois, même quand j'en ai besoin... ^^

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    1. C'est vrai qu'on fait moins d'erreurs d'achat en se connaissant mieux, j'ai remarqué la même chose ces dernières années, et pas seulement dans le domaine vestimentaire. Moi aussi, j'avais une tendance à acheter tout le matériel quand j'avais envie de me lancer dans une activité, et parfois une fois que je m'y mettais vraiment je me rendais compte que ça ne me plaisait pas tant que ça. Du coup je me restreins maintenant. Je trouve que c'est important de bien se connaître et de comprendre par quel type de situation on a tendance à être attiré, consciemment ou pas, ça aide beaucoup à trouver son équilibre personnel je trouve.

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