You Touch It, You Buy It...It's Not Our Fault

An interesting article by Andrea Thompson, Senior Writer at LiveScience.com (for the full article, follow this link.) One observation of note is the following paragraph:

Previous studies have shown that many people begin to feel ownership of an item - that it "is theirs" - before they even buy it. But this study, conducted by researchers at Ohio State University, is the first to show "mine, mine, mine" feelings can begin in as little as 30 seconds after first touching an object.

I think we've all experienced that feeling that something we see in the store is a perfect match for one's desires. We remember a mother and young daughter (say, 5 years old) in a year or so ago. Daughter found a little silk diary that she liked, and mom told her she could have it. They wandered around the store for twenty more minutes, with the little girl holding the diary close to her while they walked through our showrooms. Jamie asked her why she was holding the diary so close, and she replied that she was feeling the energy from it.

That's a pretty amazing response from a five year old. Clearly, this young lady felt a connection to this item, and the tactile sensation of clutching this diary strengthened the connection. Sean recalls that he never once felt that way about his Lego set or his Star Wars action figures. Probably because he never got to touch them before purchase.