The palm trees along the length of the infinity pool stand next to elongated sofas sheltered under white umbrellas, well stretched.
At the end of each couch is a soft blue towel rolled up.
The ocean, emerging from the edge of this pastoral scene at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in the Caribbean, almost pales in the light of the blue pool water.
A quick look at the bottom of this picture, which is emerging from my computer screen, will allow you to observe a bold inscription, which no vacation is complete without: "Four more rooms left".
Or, in other words: if you also yearn for the vacation of your dreams, you should hurry.
The choice of these words, which emphasize the number of remaining ultra-Orthodox, is of course not unique only to the vacation genre, and may push us to make a hasty purchase in any other field as well.
"This is perhaps another way to increase the anxiety of missing out, FOMO, and this is in addition to clocks that run back in time, free gifts for the first buyers and advertisements that show several viewers of the same product to create a certain sense of urgency in the purchase," explains Dr. Einav Sudai, from the multidisciplinary center for brain research at Bar-Ilan University.
"If we purchase online, the goal is to make us stay as long as possible on the site so that we are exposed to more products," continues Dr. Sudai, "borrowing from the world of social networks, we can find online sales sites where scrolling is almost endless, Zara for example.
In such a situation we don't have a stopping point where we try to think if we found what we were looking for.
The lack of a stopping point also increases the likelihood that we will be exposed to more products, and maybe we will also buy things we did not plan."
"Sophisticated use of our data, that's the secret and that's the key."
An Amazon courier in New York, photo: Reuters
"Amazon is also a good example," adds Prof. Renana Peres, head of the marketing specialization at the School of Business Administration at the Hebrew University.
"After wandering around the site, they make sure to show us products that we searched for and didn't buy. Of course, then the well-known tab of 'People who bought this also bought...' appears, but the biggest difference between Amazon and other sites is the sophisticated use they make of the data they have on The customers. That's the secret and that's the key.
"Already from the second time a person surfs their website, they know how to use their data (cookies) to show us what might suit us. Amazon also knows how to design the website in a personalized way. If a person is used to clicking on the payment button on the right, it will also appear on the right on Amazon. They design their website as personally as possible."
"Amazon are experts in making the shopping process as easy as possible, a key element in the motivation to buy," explains Dr. Aner Tal, behavioral economics consultant and head of marketing specialization at the Academic Center for Law and Business in Ramat Gan. "The '1-click buy' button was one of the smart innovations of theirs, which greatly simplified the shopping process and allowed those registered in the product ordering system with one click of a button.
The button recently became simply 'buy now', an even better name for the instant gratification it offers.
"They also present promotions as a 'deal', so the potential miss of the promotion motivates us to take action. The easy return option also contributes to an easy hand on the trigger. Psychologically, this makes the purchase easier, as it lowers the threat of possible regret over the purchase."
feel part of the tribe
Along with the various marketing techniques, on days such as Black Friday, potential buyers are exposed to significant discounts, which enter the consumer tangle and affect us in a variety of ways - the main one being emphasizing how good and attractive the deal we are about to make is.
"People are highly motivated by the avoidance of loss, and the fear of losing the money we would have saved during a sale is also a motive for action," explains Dr. Tal. the original".
"A feeling that you shouldn't miss sales because it's an opportunity for a 'smart buy'."
Black Friday at Ayalon Mall, photo: Coco
"There is an American clothing company called JC Penny that decided for a period of time to stop with end-of-season sales, in order to allow a low price all year round," says Prof. Peres about a speculative marketing move.
"Surprisingly, and maybe not, people hated it. It was a failed attempt, the company lost a lot of money, and in the end they brought back the end-of-season discounts. In the end, people like to feel that they made a successful hunt: 'I bought at the end of the season at 70% off.' - This is exactly the push at the last stage. There are many studies that have shown that as soon as a new price is placed next to the original price that is erased by X - people are more inclined to buy compared to the price that was written in the first place."
But discounts are only part of the story.
Why do we actually love shopping so much?
Along with reasons related to the age of consumption, basically - it seems that buying has accompanied us almost since the dawn of history, for example in the form of hunting and gathering.
"Collecting and storing products are direct descendants of collecting and storing food," says Dr. Tal.
"This is part of the reason that shopping can also provide a sense of security: in the primal sense, shopping gives us resources that will allow us to continue to exist, even if most of the products do not really contribute in any way to our continued survival in the world.
"Shopping can give us a sense of control, which is one of the strongest psychological needs in Western culture," Dr. Tal continues. getting better.
Shopping can also help fulfill other needs, such as a social need, spending time with others or enjoying the shopping experience itself."
What about shopping and a sense of identity?
"Confirming one's sense of self-identity fulfills a need in itself, and can also lead to a good feeling from the purchase and use of the product. In general, products can try to meet the need for self-worth. Whether they are effective in doing so or not is another issue. Many times products are used as a 'band-aid' , and don't really fulfill needs such as self-worth or a deep sense of security. There are also products that fulfill a need for social validation. Buying 'right' products and brands can give us a feeling that we are part of the tribe."
Shopping, photo: Coco
How do you buy self-fulfillment?
Prof. Ron Shahar from the Arison School of Business Administration at Reichman University believes that the word shopping mostly describes a buying experience, and not a reference to "necessary purchases that in most cases do not excite us".
According to him, "in recent years we have seen, certainly in view of the corona virus, a reduction in the number of physical stores or a change in the nature, for example in the USA.
The stores that will be abandoned in the near future will have to give their shoppers a meaningful shopping experience, otherwise they will buy online.
Thus, for example, in recent years companies such as Nintendo and Lego have opened such stores in Israel.
These are stores that just visiting them gives shoppers an experience.
This will be the direction of the physical stores."
An equally important element of the shopping experience is the excitement that comes from the act of purchasing. This is perhaps the basis of the entire shopping experience.
"True. To understand this element in depth we must understand that we are all living in a movie where we are the screenwriters, directors and main actors. But most of the time our movie is not very exciting. There are very few minutes when we really feel like stars, and a significant part of these minutes takes place when we are shopping .
"When I measure a new garment, or when I toy with the idea of buying a gadget, I actually imagine the future use of that product. In those minutes I live in a fantasy, an illusion, an imagined reality, a dream. In those minutes we really are stars in the movie of our lives. By the way, Therefore - not so surprisingly - quite a few of us are disappointed when we remeasure the garment at home.
Dopamine, the reward hormone, doesn't have to come from shopping.
riding in the park,
"While in the store we were in a fantasy, at home, next to the shoe decorated with dog bites and the cold cup of coffee that had been left there since the morning, reality shatters the illusion, and the amazing garment we saw in the store looked exactly like the rest of our clothes."
Prof. Peres looks at things from a different point of view, and is not convinced that we have to be impressed by the product at home, because in fact there is no real urgency for it to reach us in the first place.
"Many times on online shopping sites, people buy and the product doesn't arrive because of a problem with the delivery, for example. But many people don't track the delivery at all. They won't contact the site or inform about the non-receipt of the product, because for them, they got what they wanted in the actual purchase. There is something rewarding about the act of exchange - you give something and receive something in return. The search, the bargain, the exchange - are very fundamental operations and fulfill many of our human needs."
From your words it appears that there are no casual purchases, and that at the base of every purchase there are many unconscious layers that lead us to the realization of the purchase.
"Different products meet needs at different levels. For example, a cell phone can meet a basic need for communication, but can also indicate the need to belong and be loved. Apps may meet the need for self-fulfillment and self-expression.
"In fact, every product we buy fulfills a need. We always buy something we need, both at the physical, immediate level, and at higher levels - belonging, identity, love and self-realization, values we know from Maslow's pyramid of needs."
There are those who will disagree with the assumption that buying is the way to gain belonging and love.
"I agree. The well-known diamond company 'De Beers' coined the term 'diamonds forever.' This, for example, is 'getting upset.' So people may not need diamonds to satisfy a physical need of hunger or security, but owning a diamond certainly meets Maslow's high-level need."
A real addiction, photo: istock
Between happiness and addiction
Alongside optimistic values such as belonging, identity and self-fulfillment, the other side of the coin is a bit more complex.
Neuroscientist Dr. Einav Sudai is also a researcher of addictions and moods - central emotional elements at the basis of the shopping frenzy that characterizes, for example, Black Friday.
"The mere anticipation already allows for the secretion of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which causes us a feeling of pleasure. Therefore, it is enough for us to click the mouse and make a purchase, and we will already feel the satisfaction and pleasure, long before the product has reached us," Sudai explains.
"In the case of Chinese Singles' Day, we may wait between weeks and months, but it doesn't really matter - because the feeling of satisfaction comes much earlier."
Sodai seems to move in her field of research in the elusive middle ground between the potential happiness that shopping may bring us and its other extreme - addiction.
"It's a bit deceptive," she explains in regards to the matter of happiness, "as soon as we purchase something, the feeling of reward as a result of the dopamine released in our brain is only temporary. Those who buy in an uncontrolled manner and make purchases without a real need go from a feeling of pleasure to a feeling of financial and mental bondage, and as with any addiction Otherwise it can create an endless loop that is hard to get out of.
"So, for example, if I was supposed to take the child to an activity in the afternoon and I know there is a clearance sale - I might actually choose the sale. If I decided to forego it, I might experience a feeling of anger or nervousness, which are actually signs of withdrawal. Of course, not every purchase turns us into addicts. In general, shopping addiction does not yet appear as a disorder in itself in the Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and more in-depth research in the field is required."
How can we somewhat calm our strong need to shop?
"So that we don't fall into one addictive behavior from which all the reward comes, in this case shopping, the idea is to keep the reward system stimulated in doses that are not high, but which are satisfying and rewarding, and above all diverse. For this we need to create an enriched environment for ourselves that will feed our reward system correctly .
Sometimes you need to relax, Photo: Getty Images
"How exactly do we do this? We need to take care to add other rewarding stimuli to our daily routine - for example, go for a walk in nature, go to a movie or a show, learn a new course, do sports, which is a very important thing. That is, to enrich the activities with a variety of stimuli , and these will cause the release of dopamine in the brain. In this way, the reward system works in a balanced way, and therefore we reduce the need to reach quick peaks such as binge shopping, because the reward system is already provided naturally and is therefore more relaxed."
"getting used to price increases"
Even if we follow the book and manage to avoid binge buying or this or that addiction - it seems that market forces are stronger than us, so consumption will continue to accompany us, at least for the foreseeable future.
This year, the forecasts speak of a certain recession in shopping days: it starts with Apple reducing the production of the iPhone 14, Amazon is talking about a slowdown, and the Chinese Singles' Day also turned out to be weaker.
But the experts are not in a hurry to predict the fate of shopping, at least not in the near future, even when in the background inflation and recession are blowing in the back of the commercial companies.
Need for belonging and love.
De Beers diamond, photo: IPA
"There really is inflation," admits Peres, "but usually inflation is a time of increased consumption and increased demand. Inflation occurs because people buy more and therefore prices rise, but in this case the inflation stems from an increase in the price of raw materials and of transportation and transportation. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume Because when people have less money, and the value of money decreases, they buy less. But it is important to note that in times of inflation, war and poverty, in situations of relative scarcity, people buy less luxury items but buy more food."
"There are a variety of phenomena that have joined here to form the 'perfect storm'," adds Dr. Tal, "there are problems in the supply chain, geopolitical problems and rising inflation, along with higher interest rates.
All these make the purchase of products more expensive.
As essential expenses like housing and health take up a larger part of the budget, the less is left for optional expenses like a new iPhone.
"However, there is no real change in the culture of consumption here, but a temporary phenomenon. The economy moves in cycles, and at the end of every recession, a period of growth awaits. The real problem will arise if there is a permanent decrease in the purchasing power of the majority of the population, which is possible with the growth of wage gaps and the erosion of the real wages of the middle class Besides this, I must add that humans are very adaptable creatures, and therefore they also get used to price increases. A price that seems high for one moment for coffee, say NIS 15, seems reasonable after a period of time."
So the holiday shopping trend is expected to continue to expand over time?
"As long as capitalism stands in its current form, shopping holidays will be offered to us, and new shopping holidays will even be invented. In Israel we have not yet reached the end of the matter; if you look at the United States, from which we learn many of our habits when it comes to consumption, there every day is marked by the word 'Day', including 'President's Day' and even 'Memorial Day', becomes a shopping celebration where retailers take advantage of the days off to attract consumers to stores and shopping sites."
Dr. Sodai: "Precisely in a time of high cost of living, when prices are high, selling at a discount has greater significance.
We feel that we must not miss these sales because this is our opportunity to 'buy smart', and thus we will actually see more people entering the whirlwind during the November shopping days or sales in general."
What other consumer trends will we witness in the coming years?
Prof. Peres: "I think we will see integrated consumerism. That is, we buy different products that talk to each other. For example, a smart refrigerator. It will know what you need, order the milk by itself, and the milk will arrive in the refrigerator. Another trend is our ownership of products not only In the physical world, but also in the digital world, in Metaverse. One day we will be able to buy a friend a digital 'Air Jordan' for her birthday, and it may be acceptable."
Dr. Tal: "In the coming years we will see an expansion of the cooperative economy, where companies actually offer shopping channels that mediate between individual suppliers and consumers.
See for example Airbnb, Uber, and also companies that mediate between freelancers and clients, such as Fiverr.
"Also, we may see an increase in products that are produced by personal design, that is, mass customization. In the Middle Ages, only wealthy people could afford to order, for example, customized works of art or furniture. Now, with the ability of mass customization that is developing more and more, for example in 3D printing, We will see more and more personalized products. We will also see an increased supply for the consumption of experiences over material products, as well as a further expansion of subscription-based services, instead of a one-time purchase - for example, streaming instead of buying movies."
Watching TV, photo: GettyImages
On the way to early retirement
Or maybe the future of our consumerism is completely different?
Maybe shopping and consumer culture will only be for a relatively short episode in the development of the human race?
"Everything is possible. Kurt Vonnegut predicted in one of his books that humanity would evolve into a type of sea lion that spends most of the day sunbathing on the Galapagos beaches," says Dr. Tal.
"And of course, technological developments are changing the face of society so radically that it is difficult to accurately predict where we will be in 100 or even 50 years. However, the existence of trade and currency as a central element of human society for several thousand years suggests that shopping will remain with us as a social element at least Another considerable period. It is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to maintain a large and complex human society without trade relations, and trade leads to shopping and a consumer culture of some kind.
"On the other hand, if we are referring to the consumption culture as it is today, it is quite possible that human society will move in a less materialistic direction, so that shopping will occupy a less central place. Already today there are movements, albeit on the fringes of society, in different directions that move away from material acquisition as a central motif in existence: In the consumption of experiences over possessions, including minimalism and the FIRE movement, for which I have great affection, which advocates, among other things, reaching financial independence and early retirement."
"A few years ago," Peres concludes with an anecdote that illustrates our need for consumption, "I heard a lecture by an anthropologist, who studied brands in a company of spiritual people, who do yoga in an isolated place and ideologically not interested in shopping. She found that they talk a lot about brands - even if other brands . Instead of electrical products, they talk about yoga pants or peanut butter. In the end, it's probably our basic human nature."
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