It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – or is it?: A story of pathological consumption and affective forecasting

In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, UK retail industry sales were flat in September 2021, but October saw the first rise in 6 months. This can be attributed at least partially due to the UK media running stories about global supply chain disruption. These news items featured piles of this Christmas’s top toys, with a vocal warning that these won’t last until Christmas. What we see in play here is the scarcity effect, where items become more important to us if they are unavailable. In addition to the supply chain crisis we have seen retailers prioritising the placement of Christmas goods in shops, which is encouraging an early spend. We also note an increase in shopping for experiential, social and entertainment reasons, where, in the notable change from Christmas 2020, consumers may experience a phenomenon called ego depletion, which results in irrational thinking caused by sensory overload. Last Christmas was difficult for many people with lockdown restrictions and restricted income, and this results in affective forecasting; this is reflected by the Christmas advertisement offerings from many UK retailers, where determination to make the most of this year’s festivities and (over) indulge is both prevalent and seemingly encouraged. With sound tracks like Queen’s ‘Don’t stop me now’ for Tesco’s ad, and Etta James’s ‘At last’ playing over heavily merchandised visuals for Sainsbury’s, the message is clear: this year, Christmas is not for the faint hearted, and excess is acceptable. Kerching.