Some people love to shop! Shopping makes them feel good emotionally, and they might even get a chemical buzz from doing it. Some people go into a store specifically for one thing, and end up coming out with all sorts of little impulse buys. Other people really do not enjoy shopping at all, and will avoid doing so until it’s absolutely necessary. What kind of shopper are you? The answer might be determined by your genes.
Eventually, everyone needs to go shopping, even if it’s only for groceries. Stores have spent quite a bit of time and money trying to determine what influences people to buy things. They have all kinds of tricks designed to encourage people to spend more. They put nicely displayed items on the end caps of each aisle, with a large sign above it. This is designed to attract attention to those products. Most people assume that if it is on display like this, that it means the product is currently on sale. Not always!
Have you noticed all those little items that are placed near the cash registers? They are there so that people will see them as they are waiting to be rung up. Some people simply cannot resist picking up a few of these little eye catchers, while other people completely ignore them. Why? It might be genetic!
According to a study that was done by a researcher from the University of Florida, genetics seem to have an effect in the choices that consumers make. They surveyed 110 pairs of identical twins and 70 same-sex fraternal twins. The twins were asked about what kinds of products they prefer to buy, and their buying patterns. They were asked whether they would spend $100 dollars on something necessary, such as groceries, or if they would spend it on something that was indulgent, like a massage, instead.
The results were interesting. The identical twins were much more likely to give similar answers than the fraternal twins were. Identical twins share the exact same DNA, while fraternal twins only share half of their DNA. The implication is that there is a genetic component that predisposes a person towards more prudent behavior. The more prudent people will take less risks in general, and are less likely to impulse shop, or to try new brands. You might be the same kind of shopper that your ancestors were!
Image by TheTruthAbout on Flickr