Product as mood boost: how collective mindset influences macro trends

Mood is at an all-time low for the citizens around the globe currently grappling with the wide-sweeping effects of COVID-19. Social distancing and lock down orders have separated families, canceled celebrations, and exacerbated loneliness and anxiety. While high unemployment rates and an impending recession are causing many consumers to tighten their belts on spending, there still remains a value proposition for brands looking to capture consumer attention—the mood boost. In the past decades countless retail and marketing intel has been shared tracking the concept of “retail therapy” and the dopamine rush consumers receive from a new purchase. In pandemic times, this mood boost — whether it be from brightly colored or playfully designed products—provides the pick-me-up consumers are yearning for most after a day filled with monotonous Zoom meetings or online classes. The online consumer interest tracker Glimpse displays that searches for mood boosting activities like watercolor painting have risen 37% and queries on ukuleles have risen 64 percent during the pandemic months as people seek out moments of joy while at home. Retailers have seen success in outdoor furniture and lawn games fueled by families seeking to make use of their outdoor space and feed their need for emotional connection.