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You loved it in the store. Now it haunts you from the closet.
在商場里它令你愛不釋手，買回家后它卻成了衣櫥里的噩夢。
You still haven't worn that item of clothing that seemed perfect in the shop but at home seems so wrong. You can't bring yourself to get rid of it, though. It's in a corner of the closet that could be labeled 'regret.'
那件衣服在店里看起來似乎很完美，拿到家里卻顯得很不對勁，你到現在還沒穿過。但你也舍不得把它扔掉。它閑置在你衣櫥的一角，令你后悔不已。
The retail industry counts on this and knows that people buy for many more reasons than actually needing something. Sometimes the skirt or shoes were bought on a whim. Other times, a blue mood demands ill-advised retail therapy. Maybe the sale was too good to pass up. Or maybe the outfit was perfect for the thinner, edgier, wealthier person you aspired to become.
零售行業的人就是靠這個賺錢的，他們知道，除了真正需要某樣東西外，人們買東西還有很多其他原因。有時候，人們會在心血來潮時買下一條裙子或一雙鞋子。還有一些時候，人們會通過亂買東西來排解郁悶。也許特價促銷太吸引人了，讓人感覺不容錯過。或者，那套衣服也許非常適合你向往的那個更苗條、更前衛、更富有的理想中人。
'Generally you like it, but it's a little tight or a little baggy. And you think 'Oh well, it's a minor flaw. It won't bother me in the long run.' Then, that turns out to be the very thing that keeps you from wearing it, ' says consumer psychologist Miriam Tatzel in Nanuet, N.Y. Other times, 'You think you might have a use for it in the future, but that day never comes.'
紐約州納紐埃特(Nanuet)的消費心理學家米麗婭姆•泰澤爾(Miriam Tatzel)說：“總體而言你喜歡這件衣服，但它有點緊或者有點肥。你會想‘沒關系，這是個小毛病。長期來看是不成問題的’。結果這個小毛病恰恰就成了你不穿這件衣服的原因。還有一些時候，你認為一件衣服將來也許會派上用場，但這一天永遠也不會到來。”
Shoppers can be stuck with more second-thoughts-merchandise now as many retailers toughen their return policies. Many impose shorter deadlines for returns, among other conditions. Most retailers don't allow returns on items that have been marked down. Also, some shoppers don't return clothing due to the hassle of making another trip to the store or the hassle of packing and mailing items that were purchased online.
如今，消費者可能會有更多的買了之后又不喜歡的商品，因為許多零售商收緊了退貨政策。許多商家縮短了退貨期限，還增設了一些其他條件。多數零售商不允許退減價商品。另外，有些消費者之所以不退貨，是因為再去趟商店很麻煩，把網購的商品包好后寄回去也很麻煩。
Only about 20% of clothes in the average person's closet are worn on a regular basis, says Ginny Snook Scott, chief design officer of California Closets, the designer of customized closets and storage spaces. That's especially the case for women since 'men tend to wear more of their wardrobe, as they stereotypically have less, ' she says. 'They tend to have less than 10 pairs of shoes that they rotate fairly well, whereas women have four to five times that amount, on average.'
California Closets是一家為客戶量身設計衣櫥和儲物空間的公司，該公司首席設計長金尼•斯努克•斯科特(Ginny Snook Scott)說，一般人的衣櫥里只有20%左右的衣服是常穿的。她說，女性尤其如此，因為“男性的衣服利用率往往比較高，他們的衣服一般比女性少。男性的鞋子一般少于10雙，這些鞋子他們會經常輪換穿，而女性的鞋子數量平均為男性的四到五倍。”
Tara Johnson, a 37-year-old attorney in Webster, N.Y., finds herself with a pair of waxed denim skinny Levi jeans she bought on sale online from Net-a-Porter in November and a pair of strappy gold and black Christian Louboutin heels she bought on sale at Barneys New York in January.
37歲的塔拉•約翰遜(Tara Johnson)是紐約州韋伯斯特(Webster)的一名律師，去年11月她從奢侈品購物網站“頗特女士”(Net-a-Porter)購買了一條打折的李維斯(Levi’s)涂蠟緊身牛仔褲，今年1月份她又趁紐約巴尼斯精品百貨(Barneys New York)打折時買了一雙金色和黑色相間的克里斯提•魯布托(Christian Louboutin)系帶高跟鞋。
She loved how the jeans looked online and purchased them swiftly. But 'by the time they got here and I tried them on with other things in my closet, I was like 'Ehhh, it's not working, ' ' she says. 'Then I started finding reasons why I didn't like them. They're too long. I have to wear a certain kind of heel height or get them tailored.'
她很喜歡這條牛仔褲放在網上的樣子，于是迅速把它買了下來。但她說：“等褲子到貨，我配上衣櫥里其他衣服試穿之后才發現不合適。然后我開始找自己不喜歡它的原因。原因是褲子太長了。我的鞋跟必須要達到一定高度才行，要么就得把褲腿截短。”
The jeans still have the tag on. She hasn't worn the Louboutins. Neither the jeans nor the shoes can be returned.
這條牛仔褲的吊牌還在。克里斯提•魯布托的鞋子她也還沒穿過。兩樣東西都不能退貨。
Nikki Lafferty, a philanthropist in Los Angeles, regrets a silk wrap dress by Roberto Cavalli she splurged on two years ago hanging in her closet that she only wore twice. 'I have a 4 in front of my age. I'm holding out hope that I will feel sexy one night and have an event to wear it to where I want to look sexy, ' she says. That's not likely to happen, she says, especially as most of her events take place in Washington, D.C., among politicians. 'It's not the place to be sexy, ' she says.
讓洛杉磯慈善家尼基•拉弗蒂(Nikki Lafferty)后悔的是她兩年前花大價錢購買的一條羅伯托•卡沃利(Roberto Cavalli)真絲裹身裙，這條裹身裙掛在她的衣櫥里，她一共只穿過兩次。她說：“我是四字頭的年紀了。但我仍然期望某天晚上能感覺自己很性感，希望能有機會把它穿到我想扮性感的地方。”但她又說，這種機會不太可能出現，尤其是考慮到她參加的活動大多是在華盛頓舉辦的，周圍都是政界人士。她說：“這類場合不適合扮性感。”
Two years ago when she and her husband were remodeling their home, she retained Lisa Adams, chief executive of Los Angeles-based LA Closet Design to design her closet and help her better organize. She ended up giving away a few large shopping bags of clothes to charity, including some with the tags on. In March, she called on Ms. Adams again, believing her closet was 'bursting, ' with items causing her second thoughts. After working with Ms. Adams, Ms. Lafferty finally gave away the Cavalli dress.
兩年前，當拉弗蒂和丈夫翻修住房時，她聘請了麗莎•亞當斯(Lisa Adams)為她設計衣櫥，并幫助她更好地整理衣物。亞當斯是總部位于洛杉磯的儲物空間設計公司LA Closet Design的首席執行長。最終，拉弗蒂把幾大購物袋的衣物捐給了慈善機構，有些衣服連吊牌都沒摘。今年3月份，她再次打電話給亞當斯，因為她覺得她的衣櫥“要爆炸了”，其中有一些衣服她在考慮還要不要保留。與亞當斯討論之后，拉弗蒂最終放棄了那條卡沃利裹身裙。
Shopper's remorse is different, of course, from compulsive shopping or hoarding. Buzz Bissinger, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Friday Night Lights, ' set off a stir online when he chronicled his shopping addiction in an essay in the April issue of GQ entitled 'My Gucci Addiction.' He spent $587, 412.97, he wrote, on mostly flashy designer clothing between 2010 and 2012. Mr. Bissinger subsequently sought treatment for his compulsion. 'I wrote it because it was the only way I knew of coming to terms and getting the help I am now getting, ' said Mr. Bissinger in a statement emailed by a GQ spokesman.
當然，購物之后后悔與購物強迫癥或囤積強迫癥是不同的。因《勝利之光》(Friday Night Lights)一書而獲得普利策獎(Pulitzer Prize)的巴茲•比辛格(Buzz Bissinger)在男裝雜志《智族》(GQ)四月號上發表一篇名為《我的古馳癮》(My Gucci Addiction)的文章，按時間順序記述了他的購物癖，這篇文章在網上引起了轟動。他寫道，2010到2012年期間，他曾花了587,412.97美元買衣服，其中大多是華麗的設計師品牌服飾。比辛格后來努力尋求方法治療他的購物強迫癥。《智族》發言人通過電子郵件發送的一份比辛格的聲明稱：“我寫這篇文章是因為，這是我所了解的正視問題、獲得幫助的唯一方式。”
A few years ago, when the recession made her anxious, Colette Courtion, founder of a chain of upscale anti-aging skin clinics in the Northwest, went shopping. Some of the clothes still have the tags on. She keeps them as a reminder, she says, 'to go to yoga instead of shopping.'
科萊特•考特申(Colette Courtion)是美國西北部一家高端肌膚抗衰老連鎖診所的創始人，幾年前，經濟衰退令她感到焦慮，于是她開始通過購物尋求慰藉。她買的一些衣服到現在吊牌還沒有摘。她說，留著這些衣服是為了提醒自己“去做瑜伽，而不要去購物”。
Now she shops only when she truly needs something. 'It's not for recreation anymore, ' she says.
現在，考特申只買她真正需要的東西。她說：“現在我不再為消遣而買東西了。”
A Post-Purchase Consumer Regret Scale, developed by Seung Hwan Lee and June Cotte at what is now called Western University's Ivey Business School in Ontario, tracks reasons for shopper's remorse. Among the causes: fear that choosing an alternative might have worked out better; a change in how important or useful an item seems; a feeling they didn't put enough thought into their purchase decision; and a suspicion they spent too much time or effort buying something that later doesn't seem worth the time or effort. The scale was published in a 2009 issue of the journal Advances in Consumer Research.
加拿大西安大略大學(Western University)毅偉商學院(Ivey Business School)的李升桓(Seung Hwan Lee, 音)和瓊•科特(June Cotte)設計了一份“消費者購后后悔量表”(Post-Purchase Consumer Regret Scale)，以追蹤購物者后悔的原因。相關原因包括：擔心選擇另一件商品可能會更好；某件商品的重要性或用處發生了變化；感覺自己在做出購買決定時未能充分考慮；懷疑自己花太多時間或精力購買了后來感覺并不值得付出這么多時間或精力的東西。該量表2009年發布于《消費者研究進展》(Advances in Consumer Research)期刊。
The conventional wisdom that shoppers regret splurges isn't true, research found. In fact, shoppers most regretted, over the long term, passing up an indulgence for something practical or less expensive, according to research in the Journal of Marketing Research in 2008 by Ran Kivetz, a professor of marketing at Columbia University Business School, and Anat Keinan, assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.
一般人認為購物者多是為自己亂花錢而后悔，但研究顯示這種看法并不正確。研究發現，事實上，從長期來看，購物者最后悔的是錯過了買到某件實用的或更便宜的商品所帶來的享受。這項研究是哥倫比亞大學商學院(Columbia Business School)營銷學教授瑞恩•科維茨(Ran Kivetz)和哈佛商學院(Harvard Business School)工商管理學助理教授阿奈特•凱南(Anat Keinan)開展的，研究論文于2008年刊登于《市場營銷研究期刊》(Journal of Marketing Research)。
Michael Fanelli, a 50-year-old construction project manager who lives in New York City, still holds on to a few pairs of patterned pants from high-end label Etro he purchased years ago. When he was shopping, 'I was looking for something that makes a statement, ' he says. 'I look at them now and it's 'what was I thinking?''
50歲的邁克爾•法內利(Michael Fanelli)是紐約市的一名建筑項目經理，他還保留著多年前購買的幾條高端品牌艾特羅(Etro)的花褲子。他說，他購物時“會尋找那些能彰顯個人品味的東西，但現在我看到這幾條褲子時心里會嘀咕：‘當時我是怎么想的？’”
Mr. Fanelli owns a lot of shirts with prints and patterns, which made it tough to match with the trousers. He occasionally wears the pants but feels self-conscious whenever he does. He keeps putting them back in his closet in part because they are 'really nice quality.'
法內利的很多襯衫都是帶印花和圖案的，所以很難配這幾條褲子。他偶爾會穿這幾條褲子，但每次穿的時候都會感到不自在。不過，他還是會把這幾條褲子放回衣柜，在一定程度上是因為它們“質量真的很好”。
Of all people, Tyler Tervooren, of Portland, Ore., should be able to avoid style risks. The 28-year-old is the founder of Advanced Riskology, an online guide to taking smarter risks in life from mountain climbing to starting a business. When launching his business in 2010, he bought expensive wool sweaters, hoping to impress business associates.
俄勒岡州波特蘭(Portland)的泰勒•特沃倫(Tyler Tervooren)應該比所有人都更能規避亂買衣服的風險。28歲的特沃倫創辦了在線指導網站Advanced Riskology，幫助人們更好地應對生活中的風險（從登山到創業應有盡有）。2010年創業時，他買了一些昂貴的羊毛衫，希望能給業務伙伴留下深刻印象。
He wore one once. 'It just wasn't me. I'm a jeans person, ' he says. He finally donated some and sold others at a consignment shop when he moved to a smaller place in 2011.
其中一件羊毛衫他只穿過一次。他說：“這根本不是我的風格。我穿慣了牛仔褲。”最終，2011年他搬到一個比原先小的地方住時把其中一些羊毛衫捐了，另一些則在一家二手寄賣店賣掉了。
Now if he sees something in a store he might want, he will wait 10 days, to see if the feeling passes.
如今，當特沃倫在店里看到想買的東西時，他會等上10天，看看自己的購物欲會不會消失。
