Shopping Enjoyment Scale

What it measures

Measures the hedonic value of the shopping experience — the fun, playfulness, enjoyment, and entertainment derived from shopping independent of task completion. Babin et al.'s distinction between hedonic and utilitarian shopping value is foundational to retail and consumer experience research. High hedonic shopping value is associated with greater time in store, more unplanned purchases, and higher satisfaction.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

• This shopping trip was truly a joy.
• Compared to other things I could have done, the time spent shopping was truly enjoyable.
• I enjoyed being immersed in exciting new products.
• I enjoyed this shopping trip for its own sake, not just for the items I may have purchased.
• I continued to shop, not because I had to, but because I wanted to.
• While shopping, I felt a sense of adventure.
• While shopping, I found new and interesting products.
• Shopping made me feel like I was in my own little world.
• I felt like I was on an adventure while I shopped.
• I was really into hunting for what I needed.
• While shopping, I easily forgot my problems.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Hedonic subscale score = mean. Freely available — widely reproduced in retail research. Hedonic shopping value is a strong predictor of impulsive purchasing, positive WOM, and return visits. Moderated by shopping involvement, retail atmosphere quality, and time pressure. The utilitarian subscale (4 items) captures task completion efficiency — can be used separately.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Babin, B.J., Darden, W.R., & Griffin, M. (1994). Work and/or fun: Measuring hedonic and utilitarian shopping value. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(4), 644–656.

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