Revenge buying (also known as revenge shopping or revenge spending) refers to a sudden surge in the purchase of

consumer good A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but t ...

s after people are denied the opportunity to shop for extended periods of time. The revenge buying mechanism is thought to have evolved as a reaction to the frustration and psychological discomfort caused by restrictions in the freedom of movement and commerce. Unlike

panic buying Panic buying (alternatively hyphenated as panic-buying; also known as panic purchasing) occurs when consumers buy unusually large amounts of a product in anticipation of, or after, a disaster or perceived disaster, or in anticipation of a large ...

, revenge buying appears to involve the purchase of superfluous goods, such as bags and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

, as well as decorative objects such as

gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *Gems (Aerosmith album), ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 *Gems (Patti LaBelle album), ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 *G ...

and

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

. The industries revolving around the production of these objects, a major source of revenue for the

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

sector, saw huge losses during the

lockdowns A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

induced by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Revenge buying began in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

initially, and the trends were seen across the globe when economies reopened. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

followed the same kind of enthusiasm in consumers, and luxury brands posted remarkable growth compared to during COVID lockdowns.

Examples

In China, the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

during the 1960s and

COVID-19 crisis The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

nearly sixty years later are examples of collective traumas that resulted in revenge buying. The phenomenon was first observed in the 1980s, where it was termed ''baofuxing xiaofei'' (). Following China's 1976 opening to international trade, this term describes the sudden demand for foreign-brand goods. It reoccurred in China in April 2020, when the lockdown was mostly lifted and markets reopened. At that time, the French luxury brand

Hermès Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès ( , ), is a French luxury design house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Its logo, since ...

made US$2.7 million in sales in a single day.

COVID-19 pandemic

The

economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching economic consequences including the COVID-19 recession, the second largest global recession in recent history, decreased business in the services sector during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the 2020 stock ...

was devastating to many global retail businesses. Many stores and shopping centers were forced to close for months because stay-at-home restrictions meant that consumers could not travel freely. According to a March 2020 article in ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'', retail sales dropped 20.5 percent after the pandemic hit China—a percentage not seen since the 2007–2008 financial crisis. The apparel industry suffered greatly during the pandemic; several notable retailers, including J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, Brooks Brothers, Ascena Retail Group, Debenhams, Arcadia Group, GNC, and Lord & Taylor, filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

The volume of total retail sales recovers to similar levels as before the coronavirus pandemic

China was the first country hit by the COVID-19 pandemic; by the summer 2020, it had successfully contained community transmission and thereafter lifted significant restrictions. The term ''revenge buying'' entered popular consciousness with the immediate economic recovery of the French fashion company Hermès, which recorded $2.7 million in sales at its flagship store in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, China, on the day it reopened in April 2020, setting a record for most single-day shopping at any luxury outlet in China. In addition to Hermès, lines piled up outside

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

, and

Lancôme Lancôme () is a French luxury perfumes and cosmetics house that distributes products internationally. Lancôme is part of the L'Oréal Luxury Products division, which is its parent company and offers luxury skin care, fragrances, and makeup at ...

stores. A similar instance of revenge buying occurred in India following the relaxation of

Omicron Omicron (; uppercase Ο, lowercase ο, ell, όμικρον) is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet. This letter is derived from the Phoenician letter ayin: . In classical Greek, omicron represented the close-mid back rounded vowel in contras ...

-related restrictions in March 2022. A similar level of consumer enthusiasm was observed by the press in the

and

after their economies mostly reopened in April 2021.

Explanation

According to sociologists, compulsive and impulsive buying behaviors, such as panic buying and revenge buying, are

coping mechanism Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

s that relieve negative feelings. While revenge buying was first observed in China, it has since been observed in other countries. When physical stores reopened after the initial COVID lockdown, sales increased, particularly in luxury product stores. According to researchers for the ''

International Journal of Social Psychiatry The ''International Journal of Social Psychiatry'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal that covers research in the field of social psychiatry. The editor-in-chief is Dinesh Bhugra (King's College London). It was established in 1955 and is ...

'', the purchase of luxury goods acts as a means for consumers to repress unpleasant emotions. Reactance theory is another analytical method sociologists use to gain a deeper understanding of revenge-buying behavior; this theory posits that when a threat or hindrance to a person's behavioral freedom makes them upset, the person will try to regain the threatened autonomy.

Examples

COVID-19 pandemic

Explanation

See also

References

Further reading