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Why People Buy Luxurious Things in the Middle of a Financial Crisis
How ‘shoptimism’ drives consumers even when it’s irrational
About a month ago, as the stark reality of the pandemic lockdown set in, I hit a personal low point — worried and pessimistic about the economy in general, about the financial future of my city and of my household.
Then I went online and bought something I didn’t need.
Specifically, a swimsuit — from Patagonia no less — even though I already have perfectly fine swimwear and, more to the point, the public pools where I live are closed for the foreseeable future. But swimming is one of my prized routines that the lockdown shattered. So my needless purchase was a kind of billable wish for a better, or at least more normal, future. It was, in short, a form of shopping optimism. And as it turns out, I’m definitely not the only person to engage in such superfluous spending — even in the midst of a financial catastrophe.
The term “shoptimism,” in fact, was evidently coined during the last economic meltdown. Former Land’s End creative director and Esquire editor Lee Eisenberg’s book on the subject, Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep on Buying No Matter What, was published in late 2009 when the Great Recession reigned. Eisenberg posited two kinds of…
