Retail Therapy & Christmas Shopping: Buyer beware!

·         Therapy: ‘treatment to cure or rehabilitate’

·         Retail: ‘selling goods to customers’

Retail Therapy must therefore be ‘the selling of goods to cure or rehabilitate’ which, as with any therapy will work with varying degrees of effectiveness (and cost/investment) for different people!!

Christmas in the UK becomes sensory overload and I’m guessing that ‘Christmas shopping’ doesn’t exclusively involve buying presents for someone else.  How easy to ‘treat yourself’ to something, whether on-line or through a quick diversion while out shopping!   I’m sure you could give me more examples (anonymity guaranteed!) of other forms of retail therapy. 

Positive experiences include the joy, release, satisfaction of a great find; negative experiences range from guilt, dissatisfaction, frustration through to ensuing debt. 

I’m not saying you shouldn’t indulge; it can be fun.  But how many unworn items fill your wardrobe?  Worn once then abandoned in the wardrobe? The amount spent (‘it cost a lot’) or saved (‘a bargain’), a subtle blackmailer daring you not to discard it!

Knowing my colours and styles so clearly, I enjoy indulging in a ‘little retail therapy’, getting most of the benefit and minimising the pain.  I ordered on-line items so I could clear my brain and return to work; returning the unwanted items once I’d tried them.  The effort of getting undressed for a lovely dress which was 5cm (2”) too short however, was enough for me to walk away refreshed and able to refocus on my present buying with my money still in my pocket! 

As for those unwanted presents – what about getting a gift receipt, or a gift voucher to give the recipient the joy of choosing something they really want?  I’ve just discovered that this month we’re offering free P&P on all our Gift Vouchers to help you.

 

If you’ve indulged in some retail therapy and realised on getting it home [the clothes] don’t flatter you…..Send it back - the therapeutic need was fulfilled in the purchase not the item! Save your hard earned money for something that will make you look and feel great and…

….Have a wonderful holiday season, whatever you are up to!