Â鶹ÒùÔº

People often commemorate events or experiences with a social media post, souvenir or a ticket stub. New research from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business finds that the desire to collect mementos is closely tied to the timing of when an experience ends and the emotion of sadness.

Suzanne Shu '90, M.Eng. '92, the John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing at the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and co-author Charlene Chu, professor at Chapman University, found that timing plays a critical role when people feel most inclined to purchase a memento. The paper, published in the Association for Consumer Research.

Shu and Chu discovered that people feel more sentimental when a meaningful experience is about to end—for example, the last concert or close of season sporting game, and that sadness predicts a strong desire for mementos. On the contrary, when people don't feel as sad, either because the experience is repeatable or not that meaningful, they feel less desire for keepsakes.

"This emotion-driven pattern explains in part why souvenir shops at tourist spots or sports stadiums do brisk business at closing time or at season's end," said Shu. "And it offers insights into our emotional lives: Sometimes we collect things not just to remember but to ease the pain of something coming to a close."

In one study, the researchers surveyed college students at a major football game. Those who were about to graduate, facing the end of their college football experience, were far more likely to keep game mementos than those with more seasons ahead. And this wasn't just because they were bigger fans; both groups had attended similar numbers of games.

In another study, the researchers tracked college seniors as they posted on Instagram during their final month before graduation. Some were reminded regularly that graduation was approaching. Those reminders led the study participants to post more Instagram photos of campus landmarks and college life, clear signs of memento-making behavior.

In a different study, the researchers asked tourists near the end of their vacation how sentimental they felt. They were then offered a choice between a generic mug or a souvenir mug with the beach's image. The greater the sadness tourists felt about their trip ending, the more likely they were to choose the beach-themed memento.

The researchers also explored whether the degree to which study participants felt an experience was meaningful affected this pattern. In one study, participants imagined attending a series of sports games; the researchers told some it was a special, one-time event, such as the last season with family, while they told others the games were just routine. Those who imagined the special, non-repeatable season spent more money on mementos at the final game. The repeatable group did not.

In another experiment, students reflected on either a meaningful or generic place on campus, then chose between a blank luggage tag or one with a campus photo. Graduating students who thought about a meaningful location were much more likely to pick the memento tag, suggesting that emotional attachment plays a crucial role.

Participants for the majority of the studies were students attending the University of California, Los Angeles. The luggage tag study involved students attending Cornell University.

The research team surmised that for marketers, offering mementos or souvenirs as an experience nears its end could drive more interest and purchases, especially for events that are unlikely to be repeated. Airlines, concert promoters, theme parks, and universities could all benefit from offering "last chance" keepsakes as visitors wrap up their experiences.

For consumers, it offers a new way to understand behavior. If they feel an urge to buy a concert T-shirt or take one more photo at graduation, it might not just be about the memory—it might be their emotions trying to hold on to a cherished moment, according to the study.

"When something meaningful is ending, that's when we feel the most emotional pull to keep something we can hold onto," said Shu. "And that little item—a photo, a mug, a souvenir—becomes a bridge between a happy past and the present moment."