Consumer Psychology Terms

verb to acquire something in exchange for money or goods

• I plan to buy a new car next month.
• I'm gonna buy a new phone this weekend.
• I'm gonna splurge and buy those new kicks.
• You can't buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream which is kind of the same thing.

verb to steal goods from a store while pretending to be a customer

• The security guard caught the individual attempting to shoplift from the department store.
• I heard that someone tried to shoplift from the mall yesterday.
• She got busted for trying to shoplift some clothes from the store.
• He always tries to shoplift credit for other people's ideas during meetings.

noun a physical location where people go to shop for goods and services

• The new shopping center in town offers a wide variety of high-end stores.
• Let's meet up at the shopping center later to grab some lunch.
• I heard there's a sick shopping center downtown with all the cool shops.
• Her mind was like a busy shopping center, filled with thoughts and ideas.

noun a place where goods are sold; a store

verb to make a mistake while shopping or to shop incorrectly

• The customer requested a refund for the mis-shop that occurred when the wrong item was delivered.
• I had a mis-shop last week when I accidentally bought the wrong size shoes.
• I hate when I mis-shop and end up with stuff I don't need.
• In life, it's easy to mis-shop for happiness in material possessions instead of finding it within ourselves.