Why Collecting Makes Us Want to Buy More: The Psychology Behind Shopping

Shopping has become an exercise in efficiency. Online retailers promise faster searches, smarter recommendations, and frictionless checkouts. The underlying assumption is that the less effort consumers make to find a product, the more likely they are to buy it. But what if making shopping easier is not always the best way to make people want something?

Consider the difference between buying another coffee mug and finding the perfect addition to a collection of mugs gathered during your travels. The product may be the same, but the experience feels different. One is a routine purchase; the other is a discovery, a small achievement, perhaps even a personal milestone.

That distinction lies at the heart of a study published in the Journal of Marketing by Bocconi’s Assistant Professor Adam Eric Greenberg (Bocconi Department of Marketing), together with Elena Bocchi of NEOMA Business School and Zachary Estes of Bayes Business School, City University of London. 

Their research challenges a fundamental assumption of modern retail: reducing the effort involved in shopping is not the only way to encourage purchases. Sometimes, changing how consumers interpret that effort can be quite powerful.

From ordinary purchases to personal collections

The researchers call this psychological shift the collecting mindset: a way of approaching purchases not as standalone transactions but as opportunities to expand a meaningful set of possessions.

Traditionally, research on collecting has concentrated on dedicated collectors and niche objects, from valuable antiques to rare memorabilia. Bocchi, Greenberg, and Estes take a different approach. They show that collecting can shape consumer behavior even when the products involved are entirely ordinary.

A person buying a t-shirt might evaluate its design, price, and quality. But someone who already owns shirts from several Hard Rock Cafe locations may see the same purchase differently, as the new shirt represents another city, another experience, another piece of a growing collection. Crucially, nothing about the product itself needs to change. What changes is its perceived relationship to the things the consumer already owns.

To test this idea, the researchers conducted seven preregistered experiments and one supplementary study involving a total of 3,306 participants. Across different products and shopping situations, they found that putting people in a collecting mindset could make the shopping experience more pleasurable and increase their desire to acquire a product.

Searching can become part of the reward

The most intriguing finding concerns the shopping process itself. In conventional purchasing, searching and comparing alternatives are often considered necessary inconveniences. Consumers want the product, not the work involved in finding it.

“Search is […] interpreted less as a transactional cost and more as an investment in the process of advancing the collection.”

A collecting mindset changes this relationship. As the researchers explain, “Search is […] interpreted less as a transactional cost and more as an investment in the process of advancing the collection.” This change in perspective helps explain why collectors may enjoy exploring alternatives, comparing subtle differences, and seeking out distinctive items. The time spent searching no longer feels like an obstacle separating the consumer from the purchase. It becomes part of what makes the eventual acquisition meaningful.

In an experiment conducted on eBay, collectors reported significantly greater enjoyment of shopping than ordinary buyers. But the most revealing evidence of the importance of search came from an experiment involving editions of The Little Prince. Participants were encouraged either to think of the books they owned as a collection or to consider them simply as individual possessions. Some actively searched for another edition, while others were presented with a book without having to search.

For ordinary shoppers, bypassing the search process made the book more desirable. For those in a collecting mindset, however, actively searching increased its appeal. What felt like unnecessary effort to one group became a rewarding part of the experience for the other.

The lesson for retailers is counterintuitive: making shopping easier does not necessarily make products more desirable. Sometimes, the pleasure of discovering an item makes consumers want it.

When less convenient shopping becomes more appealing

The findings reveal a paradox in retail strategy. Some of the features designed to make shopping effortless may actually reduce its appeal.

The researchers tested what happened when desired products were temporarily out of stock. Surprisingly, a collecting mindset continued to increase product desirability even when consumers learned they would have to wait. This suggests that anticipation and the possibility of completing a collection can help sustain interest despite having to wait.

Thus, rather than eliminating every step between discovery and checkout, brands might benefit from encouraging exploration, gradually releasing distinctive products, or giving consumers opportunities to discover additions themselves.

“Selling a whole collection in one click or at the same time short-circuits the very process that makes collecting enjoyable, and that lifts product desirability.”

As the authors observe, “selling a whole collection in one click or at the same time short-circuits the very process that makes collecting enjoyable, and that lifts product desirability.” In other words, convenience is not always synonymous with a better shopping experience. For consumers who think like collectors, the journey can be part of the reward.

The hidden risk

Yet the collecting mindset is not a universal marketing solution. The researchers identify situations in which the strategy loses its effectiveness or even produces negative consequences. A collection that reinforces how consumers see themselves—or aspire to see themselves—can make new additions especially appealing. But when a collection represents an identity they do not value, emphasizing that connection can discourage purchases.

Simply labeling products as collectible, therefore, is not enough. Consumers need to perceive a meaningful connection between the collection and their own interests, values, or aspirations. The research also suggests that consumers who are already highly materialistic may gain less additional enjoyment from the collecting mindset than other shoppers.

What the collecting mindset means

Retailers could encourage consumers to recognize connections among products they already own. Distinctive designs, thematic product series, personalized recommendations, and opportunities for active discovery can help turn routine shopping into an experience with greater emotional significance.

The desire to purchase something does not depend only on its practical usefulness, price, or quality. It can also depend on the story people tell themselves about what they are buying.

A coffee mug is just a coffee mug until it becomes a reminder of a journey. A book becomes more than reading material when it completes a meaningful set of editions. And an ordinary t-shirt can feel special when it represents another chapter in a personal collection.

Ultimately, the study challenges the assumption that successful retailing must always minimize consumer effort. Sometimes, what makes a purchase desirable is not how quickly consumers obtain it, but how much meaning they find in the process.

Key takeaways

• A collecting mindset makes shopping more enjoyable. Viewing purchases as additions to a collection transforms searching from a chore into a rewarding experience.
• The pleasure of searching increases product desirability. Consumers in a collecting mindset are more attracted to products they actively discover, even when the purchasing process involves additional effort from consumers.
• Not every addition is equally desirable. The collecting mindset works best when a product brings something new to a collection and reinforces an identity consumers value.
• Retailers should rethink frictionless shopping. Encouraging discovery and active exploration can sometimes be more effective than simply making purchases faster and easier.