Don’t Worry, Be Shopping

This study examines the association between leisure shopping or the online shopping experience and happiness using a self-generated dataset. This research makes use of four ordered probit models and two OLS-regressions. The study finds that only leisure shopping is (positively) affecting overall happiness. Second, both leisure shopping and the online shopping environment positively affect the Affect Balance Scale but leisure shopping does it to a stronger extent. Third, leisure shopping increases life satisfaction for people above the age of 38 but decreases life satisfaction for people younger than 37, and the online shopping environment does not affect life satisfaction at all. This study shows that retailers with bricks-and-mortar stores can provide a happier shopping experience to the consumer and thereby outclass their online competitors.