Indulge in Group Nostalgia

When you stimulate within your shoppers fond memories of the past, they’ll yearn to eat candies and cakes with close friends. The explanation for this strange specific finding by researchers at Monash University, East China Normal University, and Chongqing Technology and Business University leads to broader lessons about how to employ nostalgia in retail sales.
     That explanation has to do with nostalgia emphasizing positive beliefs and feelings, with flashes of the indulgences and family support from consumers’ childhoods even if the fond memories are not primarily of childhood. As a result, nostalgic shoppers become less concerned about how others will judge their consumption decisions. This effect is stronger when the nostalgic shopper is actually accompanied by supportive family or friends. In the research, the relationship between a nostalgic frame of mind and consumption of indulgent foods was weakened when the consumer was told they’d be eating with strangers or eating alone.
     For these studies, nostalgia was generated by showing participants photos from the 1970s. Fragrances have also been used. But which stimuli will work does depend on when the target audience was born. The odor of hot chocolate and cinnamon has stronger effects on shoppers born in the 1940s than on those born in the 1970s.
     Item scarcity boosts existing feelings of nostalgia. And general social trends are a force. Among consumer psychologists, there’s a sense that nostalgia appeal grows during periods of uncertainty, such as from economic downturns or cultural isolation. Researchers from Arizona State University and Erasmus University in the Netherlands concluded that if people are feeling lonely, they get interested in nostalgia. When made to feel socially uncertain by the experimental manipulation, consumers became more likely to prefer automobile makes, food brands, TV shows, movies, and even shower soaps which reminded them of their personal history.
     In another example of the relationship between nostalgia and indulgence, nostalgia appeals have been found to loosen a consumer’s purse strings. Researchers at University of Minnesota, University of Southampton, and Grenoble École de Management asked each study participant in one group, selected at random, to think about their past. The remaining study participants were asked to think about recent or future events. Then each study participant was asked how much they’d pay for a set of items which were described by the researchers. The group who’d been asked to think about their personal past came in with higher bids overall.

For your success: Retailer’s Edge: Boost Profits Using Shopper Psychology

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