Shopping while hungry can lead to overspending and buying unnecessary items, according to research from the University of Minnesota. The hormone ghrelin, released when hungry, can affect the brain’s reward and motivation centre. Hungry shoppers spent 64% more than those who were less hungry. The study suggests shoppers should eat before going out to avoid overspending.
It’s never a good idea to shop when you’re hungry. Studies have shown that such an approach can lead to overspending and even buying items you don’t really need or want. And now, new research from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management suggests that buying non-food items on an empty stomach can also lead to the same kind of results. The reason, the researchers say, could be linked to a hormone called ghrelin, which is released from the stomach when you’re hungry. This hormone is known to affect the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in reward and motivation.
Hormones made me buy it:
Alison Jing Xu, an assistant professor of marketing at the Carlson School of Management, says ghrelin has been shown to cause hungry people to seek out and consume calories.
Xu suggests that the release of ghrelin can make you want to acquire more of everything when you’re hungry. Shoppers, he says, should “feed before they go out.”
The researchers conducted a series of experiments to test their theories. In one survey, they found that hungry shoppers spent 64% more money than those who were less hungry.
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