Real moments

Case Studies

Short explorations of ordinary purchasing moments. Each one drawn from recognizable everyday situations.

These case studies are samples from the full webinar series. They are written to be read, not to teach a lesson. You will notice there are no conclusions about what the person should have done.

Grocery shopping

The Organic Aisle Decision

Marta does her weekly shop on Thursday evenings. She has a list. She mostly sticks to it. But in the produce section, she often ends up choosing the organic version of something she planned to buy conventionally.

The price difference is small for one item. Over a month, it adds up. When she thought about it honestly, she realized the choice was not always about health. Sometimes it was about how she wanted to feel while putting things in her trolley.

That is not a criticism. It is just a more accurate description of what was happening.

The question this raises: How often do we buy the feeling a product represents rather than the product itself?
Technology

The Laptop That Needed Replacing

Tomasz's laptop was slow. He used it for work every day. A new one was clearly going to help. But when he started looking, he found himself comparing models that were significantly beyond what his work actually required.

He bought the mid-range option he had originally intended. But the week of comparison shopping was revealing. The higher-spec models were not solving a work problem. They were solving a different kind of problem entirely.

The question this raises: When does a genuine need become a starting point for something else?
Food and dining

Takeaway on a Wednesday

Karolina had food at home. Not exciting food, but food. She ordered takeaway anyway. Not because she was hungry in a way that required takeaway. Because Wednesday had been long and the idea of cooking felt like one task too many.

Was that a need or a want? The honest answer is that it was both at the same time, depending on how you define need. Energy recovery is a real thing. So is the fact that she had ingredients in the fridge.

The question this raises: At what point does convenience cross from want into something closer to a genuine requirement?
Clothing

The Jacket That Was Already There

Piotr bought a jacket in autumn. A good one. Warm, practical, well made. The following autumn he found himself looking at jackets again. His existing one was in good condition. He bought another one anyway.

When he thought about why, the most honest answer was that he had seen a style he liked and the idea of owning it had stayed with him. There was nothing wrong with the original jacket. He just wanted this one too.

The question this raises: Is wanting something more of something you already have a need, a want, or just a preference?
Full series

Six sessions. Six case studies. Open discussion throughout.

Each webinar goes deeper than these short written versions. The live format allows for the kind of conversation that written case studies cannot replicate. Questions shift the direction. Participants bring their own examples. The discussion becomes the content.

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Woman in her 30s participating in an online webinar at home, taking notes, soft natural light from a window, focused expression