Strategies to Engage Contradictory Spending Psychology in Customization

Over the past few years mentoring print-on-demand and dropshipping founders, I have watched the same customer behave in completely opposite ways within a single month. One week they binge on custom apparel and home decor as a form of “revenge spending”; the next they clamp down, embrace “no-spend” rules, and move into what several financial writers now call “revenge saving.” If you run a customization-led business, you are selling into that contradiction every day.

This article unpacks what the research says about this new spending landscape and translates it into concrete strategies for on-demand printing and dropshipping brands. The goal is not to manipulate people into buying more; it is to design customization experiences that respect both the urge to treat oneself and the need to feel financially safe and in control.

The Spending Landscape Your Custom Brand Now Operates In

Revenge spending, revenge shopping, cautious consumerism, and revenge saving are different faces of the same underlying tension: after a period of restriction or anxiety, people want both emotional release and financial security.

Industry coverage from ASD Market Week and Chargebacks911 describes revenge spending as a post-restriction surge in discretionary purchases, especially in categories people were forced to postpone: fashion, travel, electronics, and experiences. Luxury and upscale items were early winners. Chargebacks-focused analysis notes that in 2021 U.S. retailers posted record holiday sales and the luxury goods market climbed into the tens of billions of dollars, with global sales of major appliances jumping sharply in the first half of that year. Clarkston Consulting points out that as lockdowns sent shopping online, U.S. eCommerce sales climbed by roughly forty percent in 2020, creating massive pent-up demand for physical retail which then spilled over into malls, department stores, and beauty brands once doors reopened.

At the same time, research summarized by Greenbook shows that many consumers did not go on a spending bender. In their survey of five hundred adults, about forty percent planned to keep spending flat, roughly one third intended to cut back, and just over a quarter wanted to increase spending. A meaningful share focused on paying down debt, buying apparel, and giving gifts, but also on growing savings. Cash and savings dominated as payment methods; credit cards were used far less than you might expect in a supposed revenge splurge environment.

More recently, coverage in outlets like Forbes, Union Bank, and Vericast has highlighted a shift from revenge spending into “revenge saving.” Younger consumers in particular are intentionally accelerating their savings after experiencing financial vulnerability. Survey data cited by Vericast shows a growing share of Americans prioritizing emergency funds, while Fidelity data reports record 401(k) contribution rates approaching widely recommended savings targets. The same emotional energy that once drove splurges is now being redirected toward financial buffers.

Academic work has begun to map the psychology behind revenge buying in more detail. A conceptual model published in an MDPI systems journal describes revenge-buying as an atypical consumption behavior that combines emotional triggers (anxiety, fear, desire for relief) with cognitive appraisals of risk and coping strategies. Using Protection Motivation Theory, it links revenge-buying intentions to perceived severity of the crisis, perceived vulnerability, beliefs about how effective buying will be at restoring normalcy, and beliefs about one’s ability to act. The study also emphasizes the role of habits formed during lockdown and how those habits carry forward.

The Wikipedia overview on revenge buying adds another important layer: psychological reactance. When people feel their freedom to move, shop, or socialize has been restricted, they may overspend once those constraints are lifted as a way to symbolically reclaim autonomy. Acute examples include luxury boutiques in cities like Guangzhou reporting single-day sales in the millions of dollars as shoppers queued after reopening.

Put together, these sources describe a consumer who is pulled in two directions. One side wants to “make up for lost time” with non-essential purchases and experiences. The other wants to repair balance sheets and feel protected against future shocks. Your customization business sits right in the crosshairs of that tension.

Why Customization Amplifies These Contradictions

Customized products are not purely functional. A print-on-demand hoodie, mug, phone case, or wall art piece is also a story about identity, relationships, and control. That makes customization especially attractive to revenge spenders who want visible symbols of “I’m back,” whether that is a travel-themed poster, a reunion tee, or a commemorative photo book from the first post-lockdown trip.

The same traits that make customization appealing also increase perceived risk. Personalized items are harder to resell or return, which heightens the chance of buyer’s remorse. Chargebacks911 warns that irrational spending spikes are typically short-lived and often followed by elevated returns and chargebacks, especially in card-not-present environments. They highlight how buyer’s remorse on large discretionary purchases can trigger “friendly fraud” chargebacks months later, since cardholders in many schemes have up to one hundred twenty days to contest a transaction.

Meanwhile, research from Greenbook shows that many consumers now lean toward cautious consumerism: they value practicality, gifts for others, debt repayment, and increased savings. Academic work on protection motivation and habits suggests that post-crisis consumers want to feel competent, prepared, and in control, not merely entertained.

Customization can serve both impulses. It can be framed as a meaningful, emotionally satisfying treat that still feels responsible and aligned with long-term values, especially when tied to durable quality, thoughtful gifting, or sustainability. The challenge is to design your offer and journey so that both the “splurge” and the “save” sides of your customer feel respected at the same time.

Three Archetypes You Are Selling To

In mentoring on-demand brands, I consistently see three psychological archetypes emerge in customer data and qualitative feedback. They are not rigid segments; one person can move between them week to week. However, they provide a useful lens for your customization strategy.

Your job as a customization-driven merchant is not to pick one archetype and ignore the others. It is to architect experiences, offers, and messaging that can flex across these mindsets without becoming confusing or ethically questionable.

Strategy 1: Offer Custom “Permission To Splurge” Without Encouraging Overspending

Revenge spending is real, but it is temporary and uneven. Analyses from chargeback specialists and retail consultants agree on two points. First, discretionary categories such as luxury goods, travel, and big-ticket electronics enjoyed short bursts of above-normal growth as restrictions eased. Second, those waves did not translate into a permanently higher baseline; in some luxury segments, sales in North America later cooled and even declined.

For a print-on-demand or dropshipping brand, the opportunity is not to push customers into oversized hauls they will regret. It is to design small, emotionally rich splurges that are easy to justify. Think of a customized journal for a new chapter in life, a commemorative tee for a long-delayed event, or a framed print celebrating a family milestone. Price points can remain accessible while the emotional payoff feels high.

On your site, the customization experience should reinforce the idea of a thoughtful treat rather than a reckless spree. Show transparent pricing for each personalization step so customers understand exactly how their choices affect the total. Use language that acknowledges the desire to celebrate without implying that more spending equals more worth. Borrowing from the protection motivation research, emphasize self-efficacy and control: this purchase is something the shopper is choosing deliberately to mark a transition, not a reflex to stress.

The advantage of this approach is clear. You capture pent-up demand in a way that feels good to the buyer and less likely to be reversed later. The trade-off is that you will probably leave some short-term revenue on the table compared with aggressive upselling tactics. In practice, stores that take the long view usually gain that revenue back in repeat purchases, referrals, and fewer headaches with refunds and disputes.

Strategy 2: Engineer Reassurance For Cautious And Saving-Oriented Buyers

Survey data highlighted by Greenbook shows that a significant portion of consumers coming out of the pandemic are channeling money toward savings, debt repayment, and gifts rather than pure self-indulgence. More than a third in their study planned to increase savings, with many using cash or drawing from savings rather than leaning heavily on credit. Financial content on revenge saving points in the same direction: people want liquidity, flexibility, and resilience.

To engage those customers, your customization journey must feel safe and sensible from the first impression. That starts with clarity. Display full prices, including expected shipping, as early as possible in the funnel. Avoid surprise add-ons at checkout. Emphasize durability, practical benefits, and cost-per-use alongside aesthetic appeal. A custom tote that replaces disposable bags or an office-ready custom mug that supports a daily ritual can feel like a reasonable upgrade rather than a frivolous extra.

Ethical positioning is equally important. Work highlighted by The Drum and Creatable emphasizes that consumers increasingly prefer brands with credible sustainability and social responsibility narratives. Unilever data cited there shows a majority of shoppers in both the U.S. and UK feel better when buying products they perceive as sustainably and ethically produced. If your on-demand operation uses eco-conscious materials, prints to order to avoid waste, or supports causes, explain that clearly. Make it easy for a cautious buyer to tell themselves, “This is a thoughtful purchase that aligns with my values.”

From a profitability standpoint, reassurance-oriented design may lower immediate average order value compared with hard-sell tactics, but it tends to increase conversion rates among hesitant visitors and reduce costly returns. It also builds the brand trust you will need if macro conditions worsen again and consumers tighten budgets further.

Strategy 3: Reduce Buyer’s Remorse And Friendly Fraud In Custom Orders

Customization magnifies the cost of mistakes. When a customer regrets a personalized purchase, you usually cannot re-stock it and sell it to someone else. Chargebacks911 warns that revenge shopping waves often come bundled with an uptick in both criminal fraud and “friendly” first-party abuse. They cite research showing digital retail fraud attempts spiking well above average during peak seasons and emphasize that buyer’s remorse is a leading cause of illegitimate chargebacks. Because cardholders typically have up to one hundred twenty days to dispute a charge, revenue you think you have safely earned can still be clawed back months later.

Mitigating this risk requires you to redesign both pre-purchase and post-purchase touchpoints.

On the pre-purchase side, invest heavily in accurate previews. Use high-quality mockups that show the customization applied to realistic models or lifestyle scenes. Make it easy to zoom in on text, colors, and placements. Consider a mandatory review step before checkout where the shopper confirms spelling, layout, and size. All of this supports the protection motivation findings on self-efficacy: customers feel more confident that they can get the outcome they want.

Immediately after purchase, set expectations proactively. Send a clear confirmation email that restates the design, size, and production timeline in plain language. Make your business name and billing descriptor obvious so the transaction will be recognizable on a statement months from now. Offer a short editing window for minor changes before printing begins if your workflow allows; that small concession can prevent expensive reprints later.

Finally, decide in advance how you will handle genuine remorse. For example, you may choose to offer partial credits or discounted reprints rather than full refunds, framing them as a one-time exception. This approach can save the relationship and discourage the customer from escalating directly to their bank.

The pro of this strategy is a healthier bottom line over time: fewer disputes, lower operational waste, and stronger reviews. The con is higher upfront effort in user experience design and customer support. In my experience, that investment pays for itself quickly once your order volume passes even modest levels.

Strategy 4: Use Behavioral Psychology Ethically In Customization Journeys

The MDPI conceptual work on revenge-buying emphasizes that emotions like fear and anxiety interact with cognitive evaluations of threat and coping options. Protection Motivation Theory breaks this down into perceived severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and response cost. For a custom brand, the temptation is to lean hard on the “threat” side of that model: limited drops, countdown timers, “last chance to join the club” messaging.

Short bursts of urgency can work, but they sit uncomfortably next to the long-term shift toward revenge saving and cautious consumerism. Consumers who saw their finances shaken are likely to react against anything that feels like pressure. Research summarized in the Wikipedia article on revenge buying also frames overspending as a response to perceived loss of freedom. If you recreate that sense of loss through aggressive scarcity tactics, you may get the sale but undermine trust and satisfaction.

A more durable play is to use this psychological insight to restore a sense of control rather than threaten it. Design your copy and flows to communicate that the shopper is back in the driver’s seat. Enable them to set their own budget before entering the customizer and show how each choice moves them toward or away from that target. Allow easy comparison between “treat” and “value” configurations. Offer save-for-later options for designs they love but cannot justify today.

Influencer and social commerce studies from firms like Influencer and Creatable note that user-generated content and creator endorsements are far more trusted than traditional ads, especially among younger shoppers. They cite figures showing that a large majority of millennials report being influenced by user-generated content in their online shopping, and that over ninety percent of consumers trust organic content over paid advertising. Use that insight to showcase real customers who talk about why a purchase was worth it, not just how exciting it was. Stories about a custom piece that became part of a daily routine or a meaningful gift resonate with both the revenge spender and the revenge saver.

Ethically applied behavioral design has two clear advantages. It improves conversion and satisfaction without eroding customer autonomy, and it reduces the likelihood that your brand will be associated with regretful purchases. The main drawback is that results may be less dramatic in the very short term than high-pressure tactics, which can look attractive when you are watching daily dashboards. Over a season or a year, however, the trust-based approach almost always wins.

Strategy 5: Build Agile, On-Demand Operations Around Revenge Waves

Revenge spending is not just a psychological event; it is an operational shock. Clarkston Consulting’s work on revenge shopping shows how large retailers misread the early surge. Some over-ordered into categories linked to at-home life, just as consumer preferences swung back toward social, experiential, and back-to-school spending. Target, for example, reported a more than forty percent inventory increase at one point, which contributed to margin pressure and heavy discounting.

On-demand printing and dropshipping already protect you from the worst inventory mistakes, but you still face capacity constraints and supply chain risk. Blank stock availability, printing slot capacity, fulfillment labor, and shipping lead times can all be strained when demand spikes in a narrow set of products or designs.

The remedy is to treat revenge spending as a demand wave you surf, not as a new normal you build your entire cost structure around. Scenario planning, as recommended in women’s retail analysis, is a practical tool here. Sketch out what happens to your operations if discretionary order volume doubles for eight weeks, or if it shifts from home office items to event-focused apparel. Identify weak points with your suppliers and logistics partners under those scenarios.

Because your catalog is digital, you can adapt faster than traditional retailers, but only if you harness your data. Monitor which custom templates, colors, and product types correlate with impulse behavior versus more measured, gift-oriented purchases. Use that insight to adjust which designs you promote during different phases of the economic cycle. When revenge spending is surging, highlight items that are easy to produce reliably and that create high satisfaction. When revenge saving dominates, foreground evergreen, practical, or value-focused designs.

The pro of this agility-minded approach is that you can absorb and monetize demand waves without over-committing to specific trends or infrastructure. The con is that it demands discipline: you must resist the urge to treat a good quarter as a permanent step change, and you need to invest in measurement and supplier relationships before you “need” them.

Implementing These Strategies Across Your Custom Funnel

High-level strategies only matter if they translate into concrete changes in how you acquire, convert, and retain customers.

At the top of the funnel, focus your storytelling on the emotional jobs your products perform rather than on pure acquisition gimmicks. Influencer and creator marketing analyses from The Drum, Creatable, and Influencer all emphasize that post-lockdown consumers want brands to fuse the best of physical and digital experiences. Livestreams, virtual try-ons, and creator-led in-store events were highlighted for brick-and-mortar, but the same principle applies online. Show behind-the-scenes footage of your printing process, share customer stories about how a design marked a turning point, and invite your community to co-create new templates. Make sure some of those stories speak to delight, while others speak to stability and long-term value.

On the product page and inside the customizer, treat every option as a micro-decision that either calms or amplifies spending anxiety. Show price differences transparently. Make default selections reasonable in both design and cost. Offer clear comparisons such as “standard print that looks great for everyday use” versus “premium print that pops for display pieces.” Give shoppers signals that it is acceptable to stick with the basics. This is where you operationalize the balance between splurge and prudence.

Post-purchase, your communication should help turn a one-time emotional purchase into part of a longer narrative. Provide care instructions that extend the life of the item, tips for styling or gifting, and content that helps customers enjoy what they already bought. Later, segment your audience. Those who display revenge spender behavior might respond to limited collections tied to meaningful events, while those who open educational or value-focused emails might appreciate content on making the most of what they have, with occasional low-pressure offers. In my work with on-demand founders, I have repeatedly seen that brands which give non-spend ways to engage during tight months are the ones people come back to when their wallets open again.

Pros And Cons Of Leaning Into Contradictory Psychology

Building your customization strategy around contradictory spending psychology has clear upsides. It aligns your brand with how people actually feel and act, rather than with a simplistic “shop till you drop” narrative. It helps you capture revenue from revenge spending waves while honoring the cautious and saving-oriented instincts that are becoming more prominent. It tends to reduce buyer’s remorse, returns, and chargebacks, especially when combined with the operational and behavioral safeguards described by Chargebacks911 and others. And it differentiates your business in a sea of generic print-on-demand stores that compete only on price and novelty.

There are also real costs. Your customer journeys will be more complex to design and test. Messaging must be nuanced to avoid confusing the market or sounding contradictory. You will need better data, closer supplier coordination, and a deeper understanding of behavioral drivers than a simple “launch and hope” approach requires. Some short-term experiments, such as dialing back aggressive urgency tactics, may produce lower immediate spikes even if they improve long-term performance. You will also have to draw ethical lines consciously, especially around how you use scarcity, social proof, and influencers.

From a mentoring perspective, though, I would argue that these are exactly the challenges worth taking on. The brands that endure are the ones that are willing to think beyond the next discount campaign and instead design their businesses around real human psychology and sustainable value creation.

Brief FAQ

Q: What exactly is revenge spending, and how is it different from normal discretionary shopping? A: Industry and academic sources describe revenge spending as a surge in discretionary, often non-essential purchases that occurs after a period of restriction or deprivation, such as a pandemic lockdown or a personal financial drought. The intent is partly emotional payback: people feel they are “taking back” experiences they were denied. Normal discretionary spending, by contrast, tends to be more stable and less tightly linked to a specific prior constraint.

Q: Is revenge spending good or bad for a customization-based business? A: It is both. Analyses from retail and chargeback specialists show that revenge spending can lift revenues sharply in the short term, especially for categories tied to experiences and self-expression. However, they also highlight elevated risks of supply issues, fraud, and buyer’s remorse. For a custom brand, the sweet spot is to offer high-satisfaction, reasonably priced items that capture emotional demand without encouraging orders customers will later dispute or regret.

Q: How should my messaging balance celebration and responsibility? A: The research on cautious consumerism and revenge saving suggests that many customers now want to feel both joy and control. In practice, that means combining celebratory themes (“mark this moment,” “reconnect with your people”) with reassurance about value, durability, and alignment with the buyer’s values, including sustainability when appropriate. Avoid framing spending as the only valid way to cope or feel better; instead, position your products as meaningful additions to a life that is being rebuilt with intention.

As a mentor in this space, my advice is simple: treat your customers’ contradictory impulses not as a problem to exploit, but as a reality to design around. If your customization brand can help people feel both delighted in the moment and secure about their choices afterward, you will have built something that can outlast any single revenge spending wave.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_buying
2. https://www.greenbook.org/insights/revenge-spending-more-like-cautious-consumerism
3. https://chargebacks911.com/revenge-shopping/
4. https://www.chrislehnes.com/the-economics-of-revenge-spending/
5. https://www.creatable.io/news/getting-ready-for-consumer-revenge-shopping-with-influencer-marketing
6. https://fitsmallbusiness.com/what-is-revenge-spending/
7. https://www.influencer.com/knowledge-hub/consumer-revenge-shopping-how-can-brands-capitalise-on-increased-appetite
8. https://www.revlifter.com/blog/2023-revenge-spending-and-testing-your-way-to-success-hot-topics-at-revlifters-january-virtual-panel
9. https://www.thedrum.com/open-mic/getting-ready-for-consumer-revenge-shopping-with-influencer-marketing
10. https://www.ublocal.com/revenge-saving-how-millennials-and-gen-z-are-taking-control/