Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/122387
THE COMMON AREA BROWSER FEE TARGETS SHOWROOMERS, AMAZON.COM LOCKERS DELIVER, CALIFORNIA CITIES ARE GREENER Retail therapeutic for many, report says "Retail therapy" is a real phenomenon, according to an Ebates.com survey of 1,000 Americans. Of the respondents, 64 percent of women and 40 percent of men said they shop to improve their mood. Nearly 40 percent of the women said retail therapy improves mood, versus about 20 percent of the men. The chief item most of the women respondents said they buy when indulging in retail therapy is apparel (57.9 percent), while the largest percentage of the male respondents said they go for food (28.1 percent). The women ranked food second on the list of what they buy when seeking a mood boost, followed by shoes, accessories and books/magazines. Electronics came in second for the men, followed by music and movies, clothes, and games and toys. Nearly 20 percent of the respondents said that a bad day at work tends to spur them to seek retail therapy, close to 15 percent said bad news does so, and about 12 percent cited problems with a love partner. "Our survey confirms that shopping truly is 'therapy' for many people, and can help raise one's spirits after a bad Commercial mortgages pay off for banks Commercial mortgages fared better through the credit crunch and the recession than any other class of loan held by banks and thrifts in the U.S., according to a Mortgage Bankers Association analysis of FDIC data. Banks and thrifts charged off some $212 bil- day," Ebates.com CEO Kevin H. Johnson said in a press release. The survey echoes findings from a study by the University of Michigan Ross School of Business that suggests that one component of retail therapy — making buying decisions — can help to restore a sense of control and reduce sadness. In a study of 45 female undergrads, 44 percent chose to buy a snack after viewing a movie clip that portrayed a bullying incident. Participants rated their emotions at the beginning and end of the experiment, at which time the "sadness scores" of the buyers were significantly lower than those of the nonbuyers. "We think there are benefits to buying something new and showing it off," wrote University of Michigan marketing professor Scott Rick in the report. "But when it comes to alleviating sadness, actively choosing between products is essential, even if those choices are hypothetical. Shopping is a natural, easy vehicle for choice. There are other situations that afford opportunities to choose and restore personal control, but they may be less tempting and harder to find than the mall." lion of single-family mortgages, $205 billion of credit-card loans, $95 billion of commercial and industrial loans, $85 billion of construction loans and $72 billion of other types of loans from 2007 through 2012. By contrast, these lenders have charged off only about $41 billion worth of commercial mortgages over that same period. M Ay 2 013 / SC T 21