Shopper Types and shopping confessions Recap
In case you missed it..
On August 30, 2023 at 7 PM EST, Mikara Reid hosted What's Your MIIEN! ? The Conversation Series on Instagram Live. In conversation with her that night was Tiffany of Monarc PR, where Tiffany shared her shopping confessions and troubles with developing a fashion system for her professional and personal brand.
Mikara Reid started off the live with a passage from her debut book, What’s Your MIIEN! ? Discover Your Fashion Identity, that described the different shopper types she has come across as a personal style consultant. She reads pages 144, 147 and149 and here’s how the series kicked out:
“The Sporadic Shopper
From our youth, we are used to planning our wardrobes based on occasions: we buy a graduation outfit, we buy a “going away for the summer” wardrobe, we go on a shopping spree to get ready for college, and of course we buy new dresses when we begin a new chapter in our lives. This basic approach stays with us throughout our lives and is capitalized on by retail businesses (think about all the sale events that happen).
Often, the decision to buy something new is more for our psychological benefit than for our physical needs. Social media and retail stores exploit the psychology of a sporadic shopper to stimulate them to shop several times a year, and with social media integrating shopping tools and ads where you can buy with less hassle, the problem intensifies. The more you’re in a store or on social media, the greater the chance you’ll buy something.
Most sporadic shoppers have a great deal more in common than their overcrowded closets. In my experience with many clients from different walks of life, I have found that the most common problem they have is finding the right garment for a given occasion without spending a lot of time and money. They have a feeling of boredom when they discuss what they have at home in their closets and imagine that other women have much more exciting clothes to wear and are competing with them for a fashion moment on Instagram. It is this attitude that sends them to the stores for a day of shopping, often just for something to do.
The Impulsive Shopper
You fall into this category if you buy what you see and not what you need. Buy any piece of clothing on impulse and without planning, and nine out of ten times you will regret it. You have to learn how to curb impulsive buying, get better mileage from your clothes, and buy clothes you’ll actually wear for your lifestyle. One of the ways to do this is to decide which outfit in your wardrobe the new piece will be matched with even before whipping out your credit card. You should apply this rule to every purchase. In these hard times of economic uncertainty, you owe it to yourself and your bank account to buy wisely.
Learning how to identify and manage your spending triggers can help you get to the root cause of your shopping problem. Our emotions are the primary reason for impulse purchases. Buying stuff makes us feel good in the moment. Stress, boredom, FOMO (fear of missing out), and even a reason to celebrate can trigger us to impulse buy.
The Bargain Shopper
The bargain shopper allows herself to be sidetracked by a sale. A rule of thumb I often use with my clients is that if you wouldn’t purchase it at full retail price, don’t buy it just because it’s on sale. If it isn’t worth the full price, then why should it take up space in your closet? Beware of the lure of sales. Cheap is not always better. Just because the price of an item is reduced does not mean that you should buy it. You are not saving; you are making a purchase. Instead, shop higher-end stores for better-quality fabrics and bargains.
Unless your eye is highly trained, you can be tricked into purchasing something that will go out of style soon after you’ve paid the bill. Sales are often a sign of poor buying on the part of the store buyer or merchandiser. Why should you have to pay for their mistakes by making those items your own at whatever drastic markdown? If women stopped buying sale merchandise, prices of decent goods would get lower, and you would be able to find the items you want to have in your wardrobe much more to your taste.”
If you are interested in watching out next Instagram Live, check us out every Wednesday at 7 PM EST. Want to share your thoughts on the type of shopper you are and what Mikara Reid and Tiffany talked about on August 30, 2023, leave us a voice message at 202.656.2306 or upload your voice notes to this link: MIIEN Notes Podcast, [tap the Send Voice Message].
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