Don’t shop when you’re jealous – especially for Valentine’s Day
Research shows that when feeling neglected for attention, shoppers are more likely to buy extravagant items aimed to draw back the spotlight
You’re shopping in Central. You run into his ex-girlfriend. They are sharing a memory and laughing over it fondly. No, you are not going to turn into the Incredible Hulk – not physically. But emotionally, you are already ripping out of your clothes. You touch his arm and say, “We have to go, darling”. As you walk off, you tighten your grip possessively on him.
As Valentine’s Day nears, there can be a desire to keep an even shorter leash on our loved ones than usual, and it may even make us more prone to feelings of jealousy, warranted or not. Research suggests this, in turn, can manifest indirectly into more extravagant attention-getting purchases that aim to placate these (hopefully) short-term insecurities.
Studies have found that incidental feelings of jealousy can affect consumers’ preference for attention-grabbing products and that these motivations can carry over to situations that seem unrelated, or even manifest when the person who caused the feelings is not around to witness the behaviour.
A romantic guide to Macau for Valentine's Day lovers
In essence, bumping into an ex-girlfriend may not translate into an immediate row with the boyfriend, or the proverbial silent treatment, but may manifest as binge eating or a shopping spree for attention-grabbing products – things that you would never otherwise buy and may almost certainly never wear, such as a very loud blouse that shouts “look at me”, or a dress with a neckline so plunging you would not wear it without clutching a cardigan over your bosom.
