Why do we get so excited about our online purchases?

“60% off! Score!” – you cheer inside as you make payment for an item you’ve just purchased online.

You diligently track the parcel’s journey from order processing to the shipping and then the last mile as it makes its way to you.

*DING DONG*

The delivery man is at the door with a parcel.

Alas! It’s the item you had purchase a week ago. You excitedly rush forward to sign off for it and start ripping off the packaging almost immediately. Your heart is beating quickly and you are grinning from ear to ear.

But why?

Why do we feel such excitement over an item that you’ve bought for yourself. You know what you’re getting and you had been expecting it. Yet we feel like it’s our birthday.

There are several theories that contribute to such behavior:

Pre-Parcel Anxiety

The Pre-Parcel Anxiety is defined as “the nervous impatience experienced when waiting for a parcel or package you've ordered to be delivered. Often accompanied by frequent glances at the front door for signs of the courier driver when you hear any audible or visual cues of their presence. Generally the level of pre-parcel anxiety is highly correlated with either the monetary, sentimental or hype-based value placed on the package being delivered”.

Remember how on road trips, we would constantly ask our parents, “are we there yet?” (seemingly multiplied by a million). It is a similar effect. The anticipation of something builds as we get closer to attaining it, whether it is going to Disneyland, getting that Dollhouse, or going on a date with someone. This anticipation is at its highest when we are at the home stretch. We are at the peak of that emotional attachment and established ownership – sometimes the ability to be rational goes out the window too. Being so heavily invested, we are even more anxious about not attaining it. This is why shoppers are obsessed over parcel tracking.

Mere Ownership Effect

The Mere Ownership refers to an individual’s tendency to evaluate an item more favorably merely because he or she owns it. This is usually more evident after a person has the item in his/her possession. Think about people who swear by certain brands or products. I’m sure you may recall a few of these super fans. While this usually applies more when the object is in possession, it does still apply when the item has been purchased and is on the way to the shopper.

A hypothesis is that people are motivated to see themselves in a positive light and because they have made an association with the item through ownership, they overestimate the worth of that item. Think about the times you or someone you know was excited over receiving a normally unexciting item like a plain black t-shirt or hand sanitizer.

Endowment Effect

Similar to the Mere Ownership Effect, the Endowment Effect is a bias where we overvalue something that we own regardless of its market value. Some attribute this to loss aversion, where we put a higher price on losing a good than on gaining it. Another theory is that it stems from a reluctance to trade on unfavorable terms. Hence if we put this in the context of online shopping, when we purchase an item, we immediately establish ownership of the item and subconsciously place a higher value on it. The fact that we may have purchased it at a discount increases the gap between perceived value versus actual value even further.

But it goes back to the fundamentals of behavioral psychology...

There are many behavioral theories about human behavior when it comes to online shopping such as those mentioned above.

Essentially it really goes back to one of the fundamentals of Psychology – Classical Conditioning. If you’re unfamiliar with this, you may remember the experiment Pavlov performed on his dogs, also simply known as Pavlov’s dogs. Google it if you don’t know it.

Similar to Pavlov’s dogs, shoppers are conditioned to react positively to receiving online purchases.

A theory stemming from Classical Conditioning is the one of the 4 types of operant conditioning, Positive Reinforcement. This is a method of instrumental learning through the provision of a reward. Dogs learn trick through this method. They perform a trick and expect a reward.

Shoppers learn it through previous purchases or through observation of those around them. Why do you think influencers record or live stream themselves doing unboxing? It is a form of positive reinforcement on you, the shopper.

So now you know!

Lazada is having their biggest sale of the year on 11 November, with many brands selling items at the lowest prices this year! So start shopping, and see for yourself how these theories apply to you or those around you!

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