Tensions were high between the Christmas bargains in the Coppelmans garden center in Veldhoven. Two customers came to blows after they both tried to score the same Christmas house. They wished each other anything but happy holidays. But why do emotions run so high when prices drop? Behavioral psychologist Leo Ligthart explains: “More people always means more irritation.”
Third Day of Christmas is one of the busiest days in garden centers. The entire Christmas collection often sells for a fraction of the price. For many customers it is a top sport to leave with new Christmas furniture as cheaply as possible. “You notice that it really is a bit of a culture of grabbing,” employee Harold said on Friday.
READ ALSO: Argument in the garden center due to major Christmas sales
According to Ligthart, the behavior can be explained simply: “We are originally hunters who are looking for good loot.” Hunting – in this case for bargains – evokes a basic reaction in us. “When the loot is threatened, aggressive situations arise.”
“The lower the discount, the greater the urge to score”
These types of situations occur not only during the Christmas sales, but also during Black Friday, for example. According to Ligthart, the fact that many people always come to these types of sales certainly does not help keep people calm. “More people almost always means more irritation.”
Especially when there is a lot going on around you, this irritation quickly increases: the music is loud in the store, the rattling shopping carts pass you right and left, and the discount deals are stolen from right in front of you. “We were raised with the idea that you have to wait your turn, but with the crowds, that is difficult to maintain,” says Ligthart.
“Just count to ten”
Another calculation can be made, according to Ligthart: the lower the discount, the greater the urge to score. Whether it then results in an argument depends on your own character. “If aggression is the way you deal with things, then it is logical that a problem will arise more quickly.”
What is the best thing you can do to keep a cool head when the bargains are being snatched away from right in front of you? According to Ligthart, that is also personal: from ‘listening to music to counting to ten’. Ligthart concludes with a tip that fully fits in with the Christmas spirit: “You could also think: the other person will be very happy with it.”
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I also travel around town and country for the best bargains.