Holiday Shopping Tips

by John G. Agno

Published on this site: December 12th, 2005 - See more articles from this month

"If you can't find what you're looking for from 64,000 stores and 30 million items online, then you're certainly not going to find it at the mall," said Farhad Mohit, co-founder for shopping site, www.Shopzilla.com. Saving customers time and money by sifting through thousands of retail Web sites is what more than a dozen comparison shopping sites do; like providing 50 retailers selling a 37-inch Sharp Aquos liquid crystal display television, with prices ranging from $1,660 to $5,000.

76% of Baby Boomers have made online purchases of products or services according to Jupiter Research who surveyed 1,562 U.S. online users ages 40 to 59 years old for the study.

"We also saw a 36 percent increase in consumers this year who said price is the most important factor when I'm figuring out what to buy," Said Patti Freeman Evans, a retail analyst with Jupiter Research. "Price has always been important, but that's a huge increase."

Science is now discovering what many consumers have know all along: Shopping makes you feel good.

A growing body of brain research shows how shopping activates key areas of the brain, boosting our mood and making us feel better--at least for a little while. Peering into a decorated holiday window or finding a hard-to-find toy appears to tap into the brain's reward center, triggering the release of brain chemicals that give you a "shopping high."

Understanding the way your brain responds to shopping can help you make sense of the highs and lows of holiday shopping. Indiana University professor Ruth Engs, who studies shopping addiction, provides some dos and don'ts to help people make better shopping decisions:

Buy only the items on your shopping list to avoid impulse purchases.

Window shop after stores have closed or when you've left your wallet at home.

Don't shop when you're visiting friends or relatives. The added novelty of shopping in a new place puts you at higher risk of buying something you don't need.

Sources: Julie Tamaki, Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2005 and Health Journal by Tara Parker-Pope, The Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2005.

John G. Agno, certified executive & business coach Signature, Inc., PO Box 2086, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Telephone: 734.426.2000 (US Eastern Time Zone)Email: mailto:[email protected] The most critical knowledge is self-knowledge. http://www.MentoringandCoaching.com