Thursday, November 24, 2016

Why shopping on Black Friday is like being on drugs...

That feeling. You know the one. The adrenaline rush and desire you feel even thinking about it. You need your next fix. When you’re close to it, you can’t stop yourself — from buying, that is.

For some of us, the signs shouting 50% off, one-day-only sale and clearance are not so different from the siren call for other types of addictions: the feeling of winning at shopping a sale is not unlike the addiction to alcohol, drugs or even food, therapists say.

Even those of us not diagnosed with true compulsive buying disorder (an impulse control disorder recognised by some mental health professionals) can experience a similar rush. That’s why even the casual shopper finds it challenging to exercise self-control at the cash register.

In reality, we typically decide on a purchase in a split second, without much rational thought, says Keonyoung Oh, an associate professor at State University of New York Buffalo. Oh specialises in neuromarketing, an emerging field that tracks consumer behaviour through neuroscience. Full story...

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