Is retail therapy good for you? 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello and welcome to Six Minute English.

I'm Neil and joining me today is Dan -

who is weighed down with shopping bags and wearing

something very... strange. What's going on, Dan?

Dan: Well, I was feeling a bit miserable

so I decided to cheer myself up by going shopping!

Neil: Well that's lucky because the link between

shopping and mood is what we're looking at

in this 6 Minute English - and of course we'll be

giving you six mood and shopping-related

vocabulary items. But first, our quiz:

Online shoppers in which country spend more

per household than consumers in any other country,

according to a report from the UK Cards Association?

Is it a) The USA b) Norway c) The UK

Dan: Norway seems to come top of lots of lists,

so for that reason alone I'm going to say Norway.

Neil: We'll find out at the end of the show.

Now, Dan, you said just now that you went shopping

because you were feeling down.

Dan: That's right - I like a bit of retail therapy.

Neil: Retail therapy is a humorous expression which

means going shopping to make yourself feel better.

Dan: Oh I do that all the time.

Neil: Yes, I can see. And you're not alone.

According to some research done by the website

moneysupermarket.com, people are more likely to buy

things they'll later regret

when they're feeling sad, bored or stressed.

Dan: Well I was feeling a bit down in the dumps.

And that's a way of saying 'sad'.

Neil: Oh dear, Dan. Sorry to hear you've been down

in the dumps. I only hope you don't get a pang of regret

about your purchases when you get them home -

the research suggests that you will.

Dan: A pang is a sharp pain. We often hear it used

figuratively to talk about strong emotions like guilt,

regret and remorse. You're making me feel worse, Neil

Neil: Sorry Dan - it's all for educational purposes!

Our audience will learn from your pain!

Remorse is like regret - and there's a good expression

to describe exactly that bad feeling you get

when you realise you don't really need or want

the things that you've bought. Buyer's remorse.

Dan: OK, OK, OK enough about me. Let's hear from Sam,

Phil and Catherine from the Learning English team

to see if their mood affects the shopping choices

they make. Listen carefully. Can you hear the three

types of things they say that they buy

when they're down in the dumps?

Sam: Honestly, I tend to buy food.

Anything that will bring me comfort,

so it can be any sort of warm drink,

hot drink but also anything kind of warm and cosy -

so like a nice jumper.

Phil: Definitely, if I've had a bad day at work,

or for whatever reason or I feel terrible,

tired, I am more likely to buy something

on the way home.

Catherine: Oh when I'm feeling sad, I probably buy

a little bit of wine and often something to wear.

I find that a bit of retail therapy when I'm sad

usually does the trick at the time,

so it makes me feel better. But I do find

that when I look in my wardrobe,

the things that I bought when I was sad -

I never wear them.

Neil: Sam, Phil and Catherine there from the BBC

Learning English team talking about what kind of

things they buy when they're feeling down.

What were they?

Dan: Food, drink and clothes.

Neil: That's right. Sam mentioned she buys food,

warm drinks and a nice jumper

to keep her cosy.

That's the feeling of being warm,

comfortable and relaxed.

Dan: Catherine also mentioned drinks -

this time wine. And she also said that buying clothes

does the trick. That means achieves the result

she intended.

Neil: But what's interesting is that Catherine said

she never wears the clothes she buys

when she's feeling sad.

That's exactly what the survey found -

people regret the purchases

they make when they're sad, bored or stressed.

Dan: Sounds like a case of buyer's remorse.

Neil: It does indeed. Well, time now for the answer

to our quiz question. I asked this:

Online shoppers in which country spend more

per household than consumers in any other country,

according to a report from the UK Cards Association?

Is it: a) The USA b) Norway c) The UK

Dan: I said b) Norway.

Neil: And I'm afraid you might need to go and buy some

more stuff to cheer you up - you're wrong!

The correct answer is the UK.

Apparently UK households spent the equivalent

of £4,611, that's almost $6,000

using payment cards online in 2015.

Dan: Well, I hope they were happy when they made

those purchases or they may feel the pang of regret

I'm scared I might get after today's discussion!

Neil: Well, a good recap of the vocabulary

from this programme might do the trick.

Dan: Shall we start with the first word?

Do you ever go in for a bit of retail therapy, Neil?

Neil: Actually I try to avoid it. Especially after reading

this survey - I don't think the happiness you feel

after buying something lasts very long. In fact,

you can end up feeling down in the dumps.

Dan: Yes down in the dumps - meaning sad or unhappy.

And a pang of regret might follow once you realise

you've spent a lot of money on something

you don't really need.

Neil: A pang is a stab - used here figuratively

to mean a sharp pain used to talk about strong

emotions. And after that pang

can come buyer's remorse.

Dan: Hmm, I'm beginning to feel buyer's remorse

from this leopard skin onesie. It seemed like

such a good idea at the time.

Neil: Well it does look cozy at least, that's warm

comfortable and relaxed, so I think if that's

what you wanted, it does the trick.

Dan: Does the trick, meaning achieves

the result you wanted.

Neil: Please remember to check out our Facebook,

Twitter, and YouTube pages.

Dan/Neil: Bye!