For centuries, women have enjoyed shopping. It may sound ridiculous, but shopping is almost a biological need of women, a drive that has been embedded in their psychology and biology for many years. Shopping is an art. It is therapy, and it’s our way of spending some quality time with our besties. Some women could do it for hours, visiting stores, and carefully inspecting every interesting product.
Women think about shopping as often as men think about sex, which, according to some research, can be as often as 950 times a day! Some studies say it’s because of the surprise factor — we feel our lives are richer when we go shopping. In fact, 77% of women are happier and more excited when they (at least slightly) change their daily routine. Every woman feels better when, for example, she buys a small item on the way home from work in a nearby store, than when she goes straight home and starts doing the chores.
It Lets You Take Control
Women feel like they have control over their lives while shopping. It may sound weird, but it is logical. Why so? They don’t just go inside and buy a few things and run away. Navigating the store, weighing options, and checking the quality by touching the products makes us feel like we are the ones holding the reins. We get to pick and choose, and we get to decide.
Women feel great satisfaction when they buy something new. The act of shopping gives us a feeling of power that can rarely be found in other aspects of life. It doesn’t matter if she buys a dress or something nice for the house — the emotion is the same. However, we have to admit that a pair of high-heeled shoes and a dry cooker cannot compare!
It’s Rewarding
No offense to the male gender, but being a woman can be stressful. Even though we live in a society that is closer to equality than ever, there’s still a gap. A modern woman still has to work, cook, watch the children, and on top of everything — look good at every moment. That can be quite tiring. If we look at this that way, every tiny thing that we buy can make us feel that we don’t do everything we do for nothing. In other words, shopping makes us feel rewarded for everything we do.
In order to feel great more often, shopping becomes a routine for many. There were probably times when you decided to buy something you didn’t need just to get instant gratification. Shopping is a small catharsis at the end of a difficult day.
It’s Part of Your Self-Development
Shopping is our time to think, relax, and surround ourselves with a world quite different from our everyday one. When we enter that store, we get a chance to completely reinvent ourselves. The clothes do not make the man, or a woman for that matter, but they can help you feel good in your skin. Buying new things symbolizes progress, and we won’t look to reflect our inner sense of development. Owning fancy stuff can also make us feel more mature and grown-up. On top of that, people will take us more seriously.
It Makes You Happy
You’ve probably heard of the term “shopping therapy.” You might have even used it yourself. How many times have you thought to yourself, “Shopping makes me happy.” Shopping really makes us happy, at least in the short term. That instant shot of happiness can be attributed to dopamine, the chemical carrier of pleasure, enjoyment, and well-being. When our dopamine level is low, we feel sad and easily stressed out, and vice versa — when dopamine is at a high level, we are in a good mood and happy.
When we decide to buy something, the brain cells that release dopamine create a feeling of comfort that feeds our instinct to continue shopping even when reason tells us that it is enough. We can say that shopping is a sort of natural antidepressant. Buying things to feel better is a kind of therapy.
It Takes Your Mind Off Things
Shopping is prime-time entertainment, and no one can argue otherwise! Is there a greater joy than when you go shopping with your best friend for a new dress or shoes? We call it “girls on a shopping trip.” We turn shopping into an all-day event intertwined with lunch and coffee breaks. Chatting, laughing, and discovering new brands — now, that’s pure therapy! It is great because we can try to forget the worries that we have in our daily lives.
