It’s easy to think that if your sales are down, it must be because people aren’t spending money. But if you look around, the evidence tells a different story. From long lines at Starbucks to packed Disney parks, it’s clear that people are still opening their wallets. The key isn’t that they’re spending less, it’s that they’re spending differently. Consumers are focusing more on emotional fulfillment than ever before.
In this episode, Kristen talks to listeners about the current state of consumer spending and behavior. She explores how people are spending money not out of necessity, but for emotional satisfaction. Kristen will guide you through understanding why consumers are prioritizing emotional fulfillment in their purchases and how you can use these insights to tailor your marketing strategies.
Let’s look at a few highlights:
- People are looking for products and experiences that provide a dopamine boost. Their purchasing habits are driven by a quick emotional high.
- Kristen challenges you to analyze your own spending habits over the past month. What did you buy that made you feel good? This self-reflection can provide insights into broader consumer behavior.
- People aren’t just buying things out of necessity anymore. They’re splurging on stuff that makes them feel good.
- Many people would rather find ways to earn more money than cut back on their spending.
- To grab your potential customer’s attention, make sure your product or service hits them on an emotional level. Show how it can bring them joy or solve a problem.
So, despite what you might hear, people are still spending money, but they’re doing it in a way that focuses on how it makes them feel. By understanding these emotional drivers and aligning your marketing strategies accordingly, you can better connect with your audience and see your sales reflect the true state of consumer spending.
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Transcript for Episode #223: Consumer Behavior – Starbucks + Disneyland
Kristen Boss (00:10): Hey bosses! Welcome to another episode of the podcast. I’m excited to talk about this episode because I love watching how people spend their money, and I noticed that there’s a lot of talk out there about people aren’t spending money the way they used to. Sales are down, things are hard. I think it’s not because people don’t want your product. I have a completely different philosophy behind this because I’ve been observing consumer behaviors. I travel a lot, and so I love to observe how people are spending their money. And my husband is in a bunch of hobby Facebook groups and he’s on a lawnmower kick. And it’s really funny, I’m saying that as a lawnmower is going by my window right now with our yard getting mowed. But my husband is researching lawnmowers to buy, and he is very excited about it. But he’s in these groups.
Kristen Boss (01:14): He’s in all these different hobby groups on Facebook where people are talking about products that they’re buying, things they’re buying. And when you are looking for evidence of people spending money, it’s absolutely everywhere. And there is this thing called in your brain called your reticular activating system. Where wherever you tell your brain to focus, it will look for evidence to make your theory or your viewpoint true in creating a confirmation bias. So for example, when maybe it’s a certain car you’re driving, suddenly you see your car everywhere. Or if I tell you red car, your brain is going to filter out and feel like it’s seen red cars everywhere for some reason be like, there’s never been this many red cars. No, no, no, no, no. You just haven’t had your reticular activating system looking for red cars on purpose to bring it to your attention.
Kristen Boss (02:09): So suddenly it feels like there’s red cars everywhere. Or for example, I don’t feel like I see pregnant people at all anymore, but when I was trying to get pregnant or pregnant, I felt like pregnancy was just absolutely everywhere. Which by the way, if you were in a season of waiting and infertility, I see you and I was there myself and everybody being pregnant was literally the most painful thing in the world. So I apologize if that triggered you in any way, but all this to say is our brain likes to look for evidence of what we give it. So if you are like, nobody’s spending money right now, everybody’s hurting, guess what? Your brain is going to look for evidence everywhere and be like, look, see, look, see, look, see, I’m actually of a different belief. I actually think, and this is known as the lipstick effect, whereas even during economic downturns, people spend money on things that make them feel good, that make them feel a certain kind of way.
Kristen Boss (03:10): And this year I feel a certain kind of way. I’m sure you do too. And I want you to think about, I think it’d be amazing for you to do a little purchasing catalog for yourself and ask yourself, what have I bought in the last 30 days that makes me feel good? Now let me give you a simple example. I see this every day in my Starbucks drive-through line, and you guys and people are like, oh, it’s the price of things. I’m like bs. It’s the price of things. You know why? Because nobody is. If it were the price of things, then the Starbucks line would have slowed down. It’s not. I still have to wait in line and there’s still somebody in front of me that’s paying $9 for an oat milk shaken espresso. And it’s also, it’s me. It’s me. Hi, it’s me.
Kristen Boss (03:55): You know why? Because I know I can make it at home with my own fancy espresso machine. But there’s something about the big tall Starbucks plastic cup. I swear they have figured out how to just release dopamine in the drive-through line. As soon as your barista hands you your frosty beverage and you’re like, this is so dang good. And I saw this reel and I thought it was so perfect, so perfect for consumer behavior in 2024. And the reel was actually, it was from Little Foot. My millennials will probably know this. We all grew up with little foot, little foot, and what was the little ducky? Little foot and ducky and little Foot was walking down the road and Ducky was behind little foot, it was like, and the caption above it said, me taking my daughter, me headed to Starbucks with my daughter to buy iced coffee and cake pop for our mental health.
Kristen Boss (04:54): And I was just like, dang, that is consumer behavior of 2024. And I thought I was so honest because I think it said, going to spend $15 at Starbucks for a cold brew and a cake pop for our mental health. And I’m like, you know what? That is consumer behavior of 2024. It’s like, I know I’m fully aware I am spending more than what this is actually worth because it makes me feel good because I like it because it’s a value to me. So if people are not, I know this sounds crazy, I don’t think people are slowing down their spending in general. I think they’re slowing down their spending on things that don’t make them feel a certain kind of way. They’re like, I will spend things that are on absolutely essential to my mortgage, my electric bill, my groceries, those things. And then there’s the luxury or the added the nice things.
Kristen Boss (05:52): I think for them, they’re like, okay, I’m still going to spend money on that, but it has to, I’m not going to do any mediocre purchases. It has to be things that make me feel a certain kind of way. And so that is why people are still willing to spend $9 because if price was the problem, they would’ve stopped going to the Starbucks drive-through line. They’re not, they’re still buying the cake pops, they’re still buying the cold brew. And I am watching how many people buy things. And now people could say, oh, the consumer debt is at an all time high. I’m not sure people are actually going into debt. I think they are getting themselves into tight financial circumstances. I think they are more tight financially because they are still indulging in the purchases that make them feel good. Which is why I think having an income in the online space is cool.
Kristen Boss (06:45): If your mortgage and everything is already paid for, why not make money so that you can buy the things that you want to buy or, so you don’t have to say no. Did you guys know that psychologically consumers are more likely to run away from pain? So away from pain would be restricting my budget. I don’t want to be told no. I don’t want to have to say no. So they’re more likely to run away from pain than they are towards desire. So let me give you an example. It’s like, Hey, do you want to make a hundred extra dollars so that you can have some things? Sure. Or it’s like, okay, hey, do you want to cut your budget so that you can save an extra a hundred dollars a month? They’re going to be like, oh, no, no, no, no. I’d rather find a way to make money because this is entrepreneur mindset anyways.
Kristen Boss (07:32): It’s okay. I’ll just go out and make more money. Because we all would rather go out and make more money than have to cut things. And this is a great way to actually sell the business, being like, Hey, instead of having to cut your budget, why not actually make some money in the online space so that you can have more to your budget so it feels a little more cushy or whatever it is. And so not only this, so Starbucks, I’m watching this. I’m watching. I will go to Ulta or Sephora, I’m sorry, beauty girls. I still buy from you. I promise I still buy from you, but I really like going to my local Ulta or Sephora. It’s just fun. It’s just like, and I love taking my daughter. We just have fun going down the aisles and smelling perfume samples and it’s just a girly place to be.
Kristen Boss (08:08): I love it. And I’ll watch people drop hundreds of dollars on their way out of Ulta, and it’s like you guys watching, especially Gen Z. There’s this whole joke, but it’s true that millennials are aging better than Gen Z. And Gen Z is aging faster than millennials because Gen Z is kind of exposed to all this. Get ready with me. Cosmetic beauty in the social selling space or the social media space that they’re actually putting on products that are too advanced for their current skin and it’s aging them. It’s fascinating. And dermatologists and doctors are having to come out and say, Hey kids, don’t put this on your skin. It’s not meant for you. It’s meant for mature skin past the age of 30, spending so much money, guys, money is everywhere. I want you to know this so that you actually have some buyer’s confidence that people will happily buy from you, but you have to communicate how your product or servicer good is going to make them feel a certain kind of way.
Kristen Boss (09:12): You have to figure out, alright, how does this add to their dopamine, their instant gratification? Or does it save them pain? People don’t like pain, so tell me how it’s going to take away pain or give me a lot of dopamine. One of those things. I know going to Starbucks doesn’t really take away pain for me other than I can maybe dissociate from reality from my first five sips of my amazing Jake and Espresso, maybe then. But mostly I’m just going there because I get the dopamine hit as soon as I drive away from the window and I’m like, oh yes. So funny. My daughter just walked by my office with my sparkle boots that I wear on stage, and I do not know what she’s about to do to do in them, but my daughter loves my wardrobe because there’s sparkles everywhere. It makes her feel a certain kind of way.
Kristen Boss (09:55): All right, so aside from Starbucks, aside from Ulta, I also went to Disneyland this year with my kids and my family and we love it. It’s just like, I will admit I am the millennial Disney parent. Come at me, I don’t care. I am wearing my Mickey ears and I buy our family Disney shirts when we go and my husband and I grew up in Los Angeles, so we’re like Disneyland people. It’s very nostalgic for us. And so we have fun. We stay at the Grand California and we do our club level access and it’s very nice and it’s ruined us forever. We can’t do Disneyland any other kind of way now. And we actually got to go to club 33 this time and it was a super memorable experience. And so we’re going through Disneyland and you guys, I can’t shut off my business mind anywhere I go, I’m just like, I can’t help but think of like, okay, what’s the daily expenses of Disneyland?
Kristen Boss (10:46): Alright, what’s their profit margins? Alright, how much are they charging for this churro? What’s a profit margin on this churro? You guys, I cannot help myself. And I’m in those gift shops and again, I watch, there’s a shirt that I love. It’s a long sleeve shirt. It has Disneyland across the back. It is my favorite shirt. I love wearing it. It’s like a sweatshirt long sleeve type of thing. You can get all these themed shirts and it’s $80. It is $80. Am I a sucker? And do I totally buy it? Absolutely. That stupid lounge, fly backpack gear. My daughter found a sparkly one that looked like Little Mermaid that dropped $90 on that. But I’m not the only one. I’m watching people and I’m doing the math, you guys, I’m doing the math in the park and the park is busy. I’m doing the math and I’m looking at families.
Kristen Boss (11:34): I’m like, people are spending anywhere low end $2,000 to do this. If they flew here, add even more. Some people, and I’m in forums and people are like, oh yeah, we spend 5,000, 10,000. Why? Because in some way it speaks to the value of their life. They’re like, I will spend this money because I like the memories, I like the experience. It makes me feel a certain kind of way. That’s going to be the catchphrase for this podcast episode. I like you guys. There’s something about walking down Main street and you can spell the ice cream and pirate water. It’s the best. So apparently this is like my, I’m outing myself as a total Disney junkie. But anyways, I follow Disney people on Instagram and I watch how much money people spend on entertainment and fun and luxury and vacations. You guys, people have the resources.
Kristen Boss (12:32): Now, could we argue that some people are maybe taking on debt to go to Disneyland? Yes. And if you’re like, well, it’s consumer debt, well listen, then why aren’t people willing? Here’s my thing. Why aren’t people willing to take on debt to start a business that actually gives them a return that makes them money, right? There’s consumer debt. But what we haven’t done is I’m all about what is asset debt? What is debt that actually becomes where I’m putting money into something where I’m going to get a return on investment and becomes more valuable with time. That is how we have to be thinking. So when it comes to your business investments, by the way, when you pay for education, when you pay for coaches, when you pay to go to events, please talk to your tax consultant. That is considered a business. Write-off, which means you save on the backend with how much you pay in taxes at the end of the year because you are an independent contractor having your own business, you have your 10 99.
Kristen Boss (13:26): So friends, you actually want to look for ways to save on taxes. You want to actually look to a tax professional. Okay, that’s my rant on that. But listen, think guys, if you’re doing content creation, find ways to rent a studio, pay a photographer, whatever you want to be like, all right, cool. Ask your tax professional, Hey, how much do you think I should be spending per month in my business? That would be advantageous of me come tax season. What? Yes. Okay, so there’s a lot you could do about that. I’m not going to do a full blown tax episode, but I want you to start thinking about how people spend money differently because trust me, people are still spending Amazon Prime days. People are still going off. You just have to ask yourself, how do I communicate my product in a way that gives somebody a little bit of dopamine when it’s the whole add to cart, when it’s the add to cart and I help them see how this adds value to their life or just makes them feel good Like you guys, my beauty people, my skincare people just being like when you’re a stressed out, overstimulated mom and the one thing you look forward to every night is your skincare routine and you could just do this luxurious real or whatever it is, you have got to talk to how your product or business can either help them have more money so that they can buy the things that make them feel a certain kind of way, or buy your products and become a customer so that they can get their dopamine.
Kristen Boss (14:52): Alright, so friends, be careful of what you are taking in your mind. And I want you, again, I want you to do your purchasing inventory of the last 30 days and ask yourself, what were purchases I made that made me feel good? And why do I keep making those purchases? And what would I get rid of or not get rid of if I had to lean out my budget? And I would be very, I want you to catalog your own decisions of why you would choose to let some things go and not others. You have got, once you understand your own consumer psychology, when you create content, you will better be able to speak to the consumer psychology of people who follow you. When people are like, Kristen, I feel like you read my diary. I’m like, yeah, because I make it my business to understand the way you think, the way think about your business, the way you think about your products, the way you think about money, the way you think about resources, not in a way so I can manipulate you so that I can serve you better and answer your questions and be like, oh yeah, you know what?
Kristen Boss (15:52): I can see how they would think that way. Here’s how it would serve them. So friends also do a favor and walk into an Ulta watch people spend money on beauty. Just watch people watch. Go Target for Pete’s sake and just watch people spend money so that you can actually build your belief. People are spending money. I just need to work on getting in front of the right people, communicating in the right way, creating content that generates curiosity, gets their interest, speaks to their pain or their desires, and helps them feel a certain kind of way. I hope you found this episode helpful. Be sure to share it with a few friends. And if you haven’t left a review of my podcast, I would so love that. It helps us get discovered, helps us find new listeners. And again, I know you guys share this with your teams, with your friends, with your sidelines. Please keep sharing. Love it so much. Love you guys. We’ll see you guys in the next episode.
