Retail Therapy Really Does Improve Shoppers' Mood

Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of cash and a day at the mall to brighten your mood. If you feeling down or stressed out, you might be able to turn your outlook around using retail therapy. Although this term has been around for some time, it was widely disregarded in terms of accuracy. However, recent studies suggests that retail therapy does in fact improve shoppers' mood.

Let's face it, splurging and buying yourself something nice once in a while instantly lifts your spirits. Whether it's a new television, CD, DVD or just a shirt, buying stuff is sure to make you happier. According to a recent survey done by Ebates.com, 51.8% of all Americans have purchased items for the sole purpose of feeling better. With numbers such as this, there must be some kind of truth behind retail therapy.

So, what's the number one item purchased during retail therapy? According to the survey, it was clothes for women and food for men. When women are down and depressed, they will hit the mall or local apparel stores in hopes of brightening their day through retail therapy. On the other hand, men are more likely to purchase food to try and cure their blues.

The survey also reveals the leading triggers of a "retail therapy shopping spree." The number one trigger is a bad day at work. I think we've all experienced at least one bad day at work before, probably a lot more if you are like most people. Perhaps the boss is getting on your case about a deadline or maybe a coworker is trying to cause trouble. Either way, having a bad day at work will linger long after you leave the office. A simple cure for this problem is to go out and purchase yourself something at a local retail store in your area.

Store owners can take advantage of retail therapy in a number of different ways. For starters, market to your customers both outside and inside your store. Far too many store owners overlook the importance of in-store marketing, and as a result, they lose sales and profits. By throwing up some "on sale" and "clearance" signs in your store, you'll help trigger the purchasing impulse in your customers. Keep plenty of signs up in your store that highlight and draw attention to products that are currently selling well. This alone will naturally encourage more sales, especially from customers who are on a retail therapy shopping spree.