Abstract:

Shoppers are, after all, not distinct from consumers or moms or people generally. Shopping is just another facet in the diamond of human personality and behaviour. But now the severity of the recession perversely gives research a real opportunity to step up to the plate and bring real innovation and understanding of the dynamics of shopping and the motivations of shoppers. These had already been changing dramatically as a result of the increasing influence of the Internet. The TNS Digital Life study shows that students, young people and housewives now routinely spend over a third of their leisure time online. Much of this time, it may be assumed, is taken up with comparison shopping and price checking. This in turn changes the dynamics of the actual, physical shopping experience itself, since people are much more informed by the time they reach the store. Globally and domestically, therefore, research into the attitudes, behaviours and psychology of shoppers is more relevant today than ever before. Now is the time for research to innovate and for researchers to invest in this area.