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Emotions test reveals: The online purchases making us 67% happier!
- On average, online purchases are found to raise our positive feelings by 56%
- Participants reported the biggest increase in happiness when purchasing houseplants – positive emotions soared by 67%
- Gaming console purchases saw the second highest increase in positive feelings (+66%)
- Trainers and fiction books are also among the purchases raising positive emotions most
- Holidays abroad came in last; participants noted high levels of excitement but also reported an increase in concern due to its uncertainty
Thanks to ‘doom shopping’, it was revealed that the UK spends three times more when online shopping compared to the global average, costing the average person a whooping £1,382 per year! Clearly these purchases keep us coming back for more, but how do we enjoy splashing our cash the most?
Interested in online shopping, money.co.uk conducted an emotions test among 2,560 participants to discover which online purchases bring us the most joy!
Participants were asked to complete a variation* of the BMIS test (Brief Mood Intensity Scale) and record the intensity of 10 different emotions after making an online purchase. The intensity of each emotion was allocated a score based on its positivity, with a maximum score of 500 points per item – the higher the score, the better. Participants were also asked to complete the same test before making any purchases to uncover the percentage increase in positive emotions when shopping.
Which online purchases make us happiest?
Money.co.uk can reveal that a houseplant purchase increases our intensity of positive emotions more than any other transaction!
Collecting 478 points out of a potential 500, moods improved by 67% after making a plant purchase. Plants are proven to invoke feelings of vitality by improving the state of mind and lifting spirits – no wonder it scores highly!
With the PS5 still proving hard to get, purchasing a gaming console is the second online transaction that makes us happiest.
As many gamers are left on the edge of their seats waiting to snatch the latest console, it accumulated 475 points out of 500, and purchasing a console was found to raise positive feelings by 66% on average.
In third position are trainer purchases. With the demand for sneakers like Jordan 1s only increasing, those who purchased new trainers reported a 64% increase in happiness, and purchases racked up 472 points.
With bookworms reported to be happier than those who don’t read, the transaction that makes us fourth happiest is a fiction book, improving positive emotions by 64% and collecting 470 points.
Due to the huge surge in personal fitness and wellbeing during lockdown, home gym equipment purchases are found to make us fifth happiest! This transaction led to a 63% increase in positive emotions and scored a healthy 468 points.
To complete the top 10 purchases that increase our intensity of positive emotions:
6. Video game: 466 points, +62%
7. Eyeshadow palette: 465 points, +62%
8. Scented candle: 463 points, +61%
9. Exercise clothing: 461 points, +61%
10. Fashion jewellery: 459, +60%
Coming in last is a holiday abroad with 393 points out of 500 (+37%). Those who plan on jet-setting this year reported high levels of excitement and happiness but were pushed down the table as feelings of worry and nerves due to its current uncertainty.
Interested in the reasons behind our vast improvement in positive feelings, money.co.uk spoke exclusively to Lee Chambers, psychologist and wellbeing consultant, to uncover why shopping makes us happy.
“Online shopping has the ability to make us happy through several different mechanisms. Firstly, even in a world of plenty, we are still evolutionarily designed to consider scarcity. Because of this, acquiring new items, especially when discounted or limited, tends to make us happy, the feeling we have satisfied a need and potentially averted a future threat.
Shopping is also an exercise in control. We select from millions of items precisely what we want, and especially in the uncertain times we live in, we know we will get exactly what we have purchased, and it will be delivered straight to us. This control of selection and guarantee of receipt is powerful, as it becomes a defined event. We also build a level of expectation and anticipation from the moment we press the purchase button, as we believe we now have ownership over the item but have a delay until it is with us physically.
From a cultural perspective, we have been conditioned to see shopping as a reward, either an investment in ourselves or for the satisfaction of others. Shopping is likely to activate the nucleus accumbens in our brain, releasing dopamine and motivating us to repeat the behaviour. Buying printed media taps into our desire to better ourselves, gain knowledge, understand the world around us and provide stories and entertainment that can take us on a journey. And let’s not forget how lovely they look on your bookshelf on a video call, as books have become a decorative symbol over the past year.
And why do we keep buying? Our brain is adaptive, and shopping can relieve stress, provide entertainment when bored and give us a hit of dopamine. The rewarding feeling will keep us finding new things to purchase, especially since our excitement and anticipation fade once we’ve received the item.”
Catherine Hilley, mobiles expert at money.co.uk, said: “Our research reveals how small purchases can increase customers’ emotions in a positive way, something we all need after the past 12 months. With an average 63% increase in positive emotions noted across all top 10 purchases, it seems that shopping online for items such as houseplants, trainers and candles are sparking a lot more joy at the moment, than booking a holiday, which comes with a lot of added uncertainty.”
For more information, please see the blog post for the full rankings and a breakdown by sex, and age: https://www.money.co.uk/mobiles/online-shopping-joy
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Bet It Drives
Bet It Drives Season 3 Premiere: Eman Pulis on Legacy, Risk, and Why Rome Changes Everything
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was SiGMA World.
But when Eman Pulis rolls through the Eternal City in Season 3 of Bet It Drives, he’s not just another iGaming founder with a war story. He’s the gladiator who fought COVID, broken rules, outplayed industry skeptics—and came out building schools in Ethiopia while running eight conferences across three continents.
“Now I’m free,” Eman says, quoting Hans Zimmer’s Gladiator soundtrack—his victory song for after SiGMA Central Europe wrapped and the chaos settled. Free from the rules that almost sank him. Free to build tribes, not just teams. Free to prove that legacy beats profit, every single time.
Season 3 of Bet It Drives, powered by GR8 Tech and hosted by Yevhen Krazhan, CSO, launches where champions are made: on the road, in motion, with no script and nowhere to hide. Rome sets the stage. Eman brings the empire.
In the episode, Eman reveals:
- The COVID gamble that saved SiGMA: How 14,000 people walked through doors that were supposed to stay shut—and why he’d do it again
- Why Rome, why now: The strategy behind planting the flag in Europe’s second-biggest gaming market (and why Malta stays in the picture)
- From beach in Phuket to existential crisis: The moment everything felt too perfect—two weeks before COVID hit
- 350 people, 8 offices, one tribe: How a multicultural team became SiGMA’s secret weapon across Manila, São Paulo, Cyprus, and beyond
- Business is done between people, not brands: The mantra that turned boozy Malta meetups into a global events empire
- Politics or impact? Why helping millions through the foundation beats governing 400,000 people in Malta
- The “zoom out” rule: Crisis survival advice from someone who almost became redundant overnight
“We covered a lot of ground—literally and figuratively,” said Yevhen Krazhan, CSO at GR8 Tech and host of Bet It Drives. “And Rome was the perfect place to kick off Season 3. The city represents where the industry is right now—ancient foundations, modern chaos, and endless opportunity.”
Season 3 keeps the momentum rolling with upcoming episodes featuring Valentina Diaco and Karolina Pelc—two more amazing leaders with stories worth hearing.
Watch or listen to Season 3, Episode 1 with Eman Pulis on:
The arena is open. The conversations have started. Season 3 of Bet It Drives is here—and it’s just the beginning.
The post Bet It Drives Season 3 Premiere: Eman Pulis on Legacy, Risk, and Why Rome Changes Everything appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Belatra Games, the specialist online slots developer, has rolled out the red carpet to the Frozen Barrel Tavern to celebrate the festive season. Players are warmly welcomed into a cosy winter tavern that radiates holiday cheer and buzzes with Christmas chatter.
In the standard game and free games feature, winning symbols explode and the empty positions are replaced with new symbols until no further wins occur. Big symbols that land are either 2×2 or 3×3 and act the same as 4 or 9 identical standard symbols. The large x2 and x3 barrels substitute for 4 or 9 identical standard symbols and also multiply the Global Multiplier above the reels.
During the Base Game and Bonus Games, multiplier symbols ranging from 2x to 250x can land. After each cycle, all multiplier symbols are added together, and if the Cumulative Multiplier is greater than 1, it is included. The winning total, visible at the top of the reels, is multiplied by this amount. Flying barrels have the potential to enter the fun and will replace the non-winning symbol with the multiplier symbol.
The Cumulative Multiplier begins at 1 at the start of both the base game and the Free Games round. During Free Games, any Multipliers that appear on the reels are added to the Cumulative Multiplier at the end of each spin, and the updated value carries over to the next Free Game. When the round ends, the total winnings are multiplied by the combined value of the reel Multipliers and the Cumulative Multiplier, if it is greater than 1.
Players finding four or more Scatters on the reels will be awarded with 10 Free Games. Three or more Scatters in Free Games trigger five more Free Games – the limit is capped at 100.
Tis’ the season, so the Frozen Barrel Tavern has a Happy Hour. Six Scatters appearing triggers the special Bonus game. Here the initial Cumulative Multiplier takes a value between 2 to 10, big wins appear more often, and the maximum win is 12000x.
Misha Voinich, Head of Business Development at Belatra, commented: “Frozen Barrel Tavern is the perfect place to celebrate the holidays – and hopefully land some big wins. Warm lights, fun features, and a touch of seasonal magic make this festive treat a fantastic addition to our portfolio.”
The post Belatra invites players down to the Frozen Barrel Tavern to celebrate the festive season appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Leading iGaming content provider Spinomenal is celebrating the holiday season by inviting players for a festive journey with The North Star Express – Hold & Hit 3×3.
Unfolding against a wintry backdrop, North Star Express arrives to present a fun, festive adventure as players race through snowy forests. Adding to the festivities is a feel-good soundtrack – a cheerful blend of seasonal notes and upbeat rhythms that keeps the mood uplifting.
An ornate golden pocket watch represents the Wild symbol and substitutes for all symbols except the Bonus and Bonus Collect. The North Star Express – Hold & Hit 3×3 features two Special Bonus symbols, the Bonus only lands on reels one and three, while the Bonus Collect lands only on reel two.
Players who unwrap the Bonus Collect along with one or more Bonus symbols, will launch the Bonus game. Symbols that triggered the feature remain in place during the move to the Bonus Game, which begins with three spins. During the feature, only Bonus symbols and Bonus Collect symbols can land on the reels. Each spin has the chance to award multipliers ranging from x1, x2, x5, x7, x10, and x15, as well as any of the in-game jackpots.
Every time a Bonus symbol hits, it is collected by all Bonus Collect symbols, disappearing from the reels while its value tops up the Bonus Collect symbol’s total. Each Bonus Symbol or Bonus Collect symbol returns the spin counter to three. The round finishes once three winless spins land or when the total collected winnings hit the maximum x5000 multiplier.
Grand, Major, Minor and Mini in-game Jackpot symbols have the chance to appear during the game and will launch the corresponding in-game Jackpot.
The Bonus Blast Feature can randomly activate, adding extra Bonus and Bonus Collect symbols to the reels to help trigger the Bonus Game.
A Bonus Collect symbol with one or more Bonus symbols, including in-game Jackpot symbols, that do not initiate the Bonus Game will collect the values and add to the total win.
Spinomenal CO-CEO, Omer Henya commented: “The North Star Express – Hold & Hit 3×3 arrives at the perfect time to deliver a fun, festive game for the holiday season. This new title brings joy and festive spirit in equal measure, giving players a ticket to ride the reels in search of jackpots and more.”
The post Spinomenal celebrates the holiday season with The North Star Express – Hold & Hit 3×3 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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