On Shopping Addiction - Part I
Abstract
According to recent research and news reports, shopping addiction has become an emerging kind of addictions that hits nearly 10% of the American population, and nine-tenth’s of compulsive shoppers are women. Although what exactly causes compulsive shopping is still not clear, researchers have been looking into psychological, biological, and social factors that trigger such addiction. People who are depressed and with low self-esteem are believed to be more impulsive and easier to get addicted to shopping. With the rapid advance of technology, online purchases also increase the chances for shoppers to become compulsive. This research paper will examine the possible causes, characteristics, and common signs of shopping addiction, and suggest intervention strategies for counselors.
ON SHOPPING ADDICTION
What is Shopping Addiction?
It is generally considered that women do shopping and enjoy it more than men, and when people go to the mall, chances are most shoppers they encounter will be women. Because women are usually keepers of the home, they take care of the entire household and are responsible for most of the domestic routines, including grocery shopping. In additions, most women are also responsible for seasonal shopping, such as shopping before Thanksgiving and Christmas. These are normal shopping, but when a shopper spends too much and brings home excessive items that are not even necessities, it is possible that this shopper has become addicted to shopping.
According to Donald Black, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa, College of Medicine, “compulsive shopping and spending are defined as inappropriate, excessive, and out of control” (Hatfield, 2004). In other words, shopping addiction is a type of impulse control disorder. As many other impulsive control disorders, people who shop compulsively cannot control their spending, nor can they stop from purchasing excessive goods over and over again. Moreover, shopping addiction is a seasonal balm for depression, anxiety, and loneliness that people feel during the December holiday season, and holiday seasons often trigger shopping binges among people who do not shop compulsively the rest of the year (Engs, 2005). Department store anniversary sales are also times when people perform excessive shopping.
People who shop until they drop and spend over their credit card limits frequently have a shopping addiction. They think that they will feel better or become more worthwhile if they shop. However, things often turn out quite the opposite; they generally feel worse after they shop compulsively because they increase their own financial burden. It is similar to other addictive behaviors such as heavy drinking, drug addiction, gambling, and overeating addictions (Engs, 2005).
What Causes Shopping Addiction?
The exact causes of shopping addiction are still unknown, but some recent evidences have suggested that 10%-15% of people probably have a genetic predisposition to an addictive behavior (Hatfield, 2004). Although the biology of compulsive shopping is still less understood to the general public, “an imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin could play a role” (Psychology Today, 1995), and shopping addiction even has a scientific term – oniomania (Type of addiction – Shopping, n.d.). Next, these people may also have an environment in which the particular behavior is triggered (Hatfield, 2004). For example, it is highly possible for people who live a very stressful lifestyle turning to shopping to reduce their stress level. Next, if someone has family members, friends, and/or colleagues who model such behavior, this person is more likely to pick up the pattern of excessive purchasing and imitate accordingly.
Media also plays a crucial role on promoting excessive shopping. Shopping is often glamorized in magazine and store advertisements, TV commercials and programs, and those ads and commercials serve as stimulants or motivators for the viewers that help encouraging them to go out and shop until they drop. Moreover, credit cards have made shopping easier than decades before, and with the continuous advance in information technology, online shopping have also become highly acceptable for most shoppers because of convenience; these two factors work together to create an ever-booming business that keeps growing and growing. In fact, female shoppers actually contribute to the booming of online retail (Chao, 2005).
In many countries, when people feel lonely, depressed, anxious, angry, or out of sorts; many of them will embark on a shopping spree in order to make themselves feel better (“Type of addiction – Shopping”, n.d.). Studies have shown that people who have tremendous pressure, manic depression, or melancholia are more likely to shop compulsively, and because women are more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders, shopping addiction affects women far more than men. Dr. Benson (2000) states in her book I Shop, Therefore I am that as many as 25% of Americans have problems with buying, studies suggest that 1 to 6% of them are fully-fledged compulsive buyers. Recently, an estimated 8% of people in the United States are affected by shopping addiction (Bhat, 2004), and according to Ronald Faber, Ph. D., of the University of Minnesota, approximately 90% of shopoholics are women (Psychology Today, 1995). Moreover, many shopping addicts tend to be perfectionists (Psychology Today, 1995).
When Women go through a vacuum in relationships and may not always experience fulfillment in intimate relationships, they tend to fall prey to shopoholism because shopping, a culturally acceptable frequent activity for women, helps them assert themselves and take charge; they can gain a sense of worthiness and happiness just stepping outside the house (Bhat, 2004). In additions, women are also more likely to have a low self-esteem, and shopping is possibly the way for them to boost their self-esteem, so “boosting self-esteem might be the key motivation behind compulsive buying” (Psychology Today, 1995). For those who with a low self-esteem and love to shop, their mentality is probably like this: “If I buy a lot, I’ll be treated like a VIP,” because the ability to spend a lot of money equals to power, status, and respect from others. Next, self-esteem may relate to what women buy. For women who shop obsessively, the preferred items of purchase include cosmetics, clothing, shoes, and jewelry – things that enhance their appearance (Psychology Today, 1995).
To sum up, although what exactly causes shopping addiction is unclear at this moment, researches have suggested that psychological, biological, and social factors all contribute to such a compulsive behavior.
Characteristics of Shopping Addiction
According to Dr. Engs (2005), women with shopping addiction often have racks of clothes and possessions, and the price tags are still attached to those things. It is also common that those merchandises may still be in their original packaging, piled up inside the closet without even being noticed or used. When they go to the shopping mall, they may intend to purchase only one or two items, but they frequently come home with bags and bags of merchandise. In some cases, addicted shoppers experience an emotional void and cannot even recall that they have bought those items.
Although most compulsive shoppers are women, some men also shop compulsively, and there are differences regarding why and what between women and men. Women tend to consider that possessions are symbols of emotional attachment and interpersonal integration, and female shopoholics prefer to purchase clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, kitchen items, and home decorating products. Some women will buy almost anything. On the contrary, men tend to consider that possessions are valuable because of they are pragmatic, instrumental, self-referent (“What is shopping addiction”, n.d.), and can represent their status (Chang, 2005). Male shopoholics are more likely to purchase technological items such as electronics, computers, mobile phones, and cars excessively (Chang, 2005).
Signs of Shopping Addiction
Hatfield (2004) suggests that people need to look out for the following signs when they think shopping has become a problem for their family members or friends:
A. Spending over budget: when people spend over their budget and well above their income, they run into the risk of deep financial trouble. For people who shop appropriately, they know what they can afford and can’t. However, shopolohics do not recognize the boundaries of a budget; they just go out and buy.
B. Compulsive buying: when a person goes out to shop, if she or he plans to buy one pair of shoes but eventually come out with ten pairs, this person is shopping compulsively.A chronic problem: shopping addiction is actually a continuous issue. As previously mentioned, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and department store anniversary sale are times that trigger compulsive shopping, along with the seasonal sale of many stores, shopping addiction has become a year-round problem.Hiding the problem: people who shop addictively will hide their merchandises after they shop because they do not want their significant other(s) to know they have spent too much, and they do so because they are afraid of being criticized. Also, these people often have secret credit card accounts. Shopping addiction affects mostly women as alcoholism affects mostly men, so husbands may one day suddenly be informed that their wife is thousands of dollars in debt and they must pay for it. In many cases, this has come out in divorce. In some cases, compulsive shoppers may take on an extra job to earn more and pay for their bills.
C. Impaired relationships: it is common that shopoholics have impairments in their relationships due to their excessive spending or shopping. People who shop compulsively spend time away from home to go store after store for shopping, or in some cases, spend far too much time in front of the computer to shop online even if they are at home. Time after time they cover up debts with various kinds of deception, meanwhile beginning to isolate themselves physically and emotionally from family, friends, and other people. They become preoccupied with their compulsive behavior.A pattern, trend, or consequences: if a person spends more money than she or he intends during the holiday season, this does not make her or him a shopoholic because it is normal for people to bring home more purchases than usual around holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, if there is a pattern, trend, or consequences that occur with a person’s excessive shopping, then she or he is losing control. In other words, this person has no control over her or his shopping; this person is controlled by her or his shopping, and thus becomes a problem shopper.
It is interesting that many compulsive shoppers experience heightened sensations, because the colors and textures of items displayed in store intensify shoppers’ sensations during a shopping binge. Some shoppers even claim that they reach extreme levels of focus and concentration when they look one store shelf after another. A few shoppers liken the experience as taking drugs, and some others even discover that their shopping trips are sexually stimulating (Psychology Today, 1995).
A typical scenario of excessive shopping is like this: when compulsive shoppers feel bad, they go out to shop to get a high, or get a rush just like people with drug or alcohol addiction (Engs, 2005), in order to get over or get away from such negative feeling. It is not uncommon for some of them to take their purchases back afterwards because they feel guilty after spending so much money. These people may not have any debt due to their continuous returning of merchandises, but they still have a problem. With or without returning their merchandises, such guilt helps increase these people’s level of anxiety or depression and trigger another shopping spree. After shopping for more, they experience a higher level of guilt, too, which once again increase their stress or frustration even more. In other words, they may regret afterwards, but they will keep on shopping anyway. Therefore, compulsive shopping becomes a vicious circle, a non-stop downward spiral.
According to recent research and news reports, shopping addiction has become an emerging kind of addictions that hits nearly 10% of the American population, and nine-tenth’s of compulsive shoppers are women. Although what exactly causes compulsive shopping is still not clear, researchers have been looking into psychological, biological, and social factors that trigger such addiction. People who are depressed and with low self-esteem are believed to be more impulsive and easier to get addicted to shopping. With the rapid advance of technology, online purchases also increase the chances for shoppers to become compulsive. This research paper will examine the possible causes, characteristics, and common signs of shopping addiction, and suggest intervention strategies for counselors.
ON SHOPPING ADDICTION
What is Shopping Addiction?
It is generally considered that women do shopping and enjoy it more than men, and when people go to the mall, chances are most shoppers they encounter will be women. Because women are usually keepers of the home, they take care of the entire household and are responsible for most of the domestic routines, including grocery shopping. In additions, most women are also responsible for seasonal shopping, such as shopping before Thanksgiving and Christmas. These are normal shopping, but when a shopper spends too much and brings home excessive items that are not even necessities, it is possible that this shopper has become addicted to shopping.
According to Donald Black, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Iowa, College of Medicine, “compulsive shopping and spending are defined as inappropriate, excessive, and out of control” (Hatfield, 2004). In other words, shopping addiction is a type of impulse control disorder. As many other impulsive control disorders, people who shop compulsively cannot control their spending, nor can they stop from purchasing excessive goods over and over again. Moreover, shopping addiction is a seasonal balm for depression, anxiety, and loneliness that people feel during the December holiday season, and holiday seasons often trigger shopping binges among people who do not shop compulsively the rest of the year (Engs, 2005). Department store anniversary sales are also times when people perform excessive shopping.
People who shop until they drop and spend over their credit card limits frequently have a shopping addiction. They think that they will feel better or become more worthwhile if they shop. However, things often turn out quite the opposite; they generally feel worse after they shop compulsively because they increase their own financial burden. It is similar to other addictive behaviors such as heavy drinking, drug addiction, gambling, and overeating addictions (Engs, 2005).
What Causes Shopping Addiction?
The exact causes of shopping addiction are still unknown, but some recent evidences have suggested that 10%-15% of people probably have a genetic predisposition to an addictive behavior (Hatfield, 2004). Although the biology of compulsive shopping is still less understood to the general public, “an imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin could play a role” (Psychology Today, 1995), and shopping addiction even has a scientific term – oniomania (Type of addiction – Shopping, n.d.). Next, these people may also have an environment in which the particular behavior is triggered (Hatfield, 2004). For example, it is highly possible for people who live a very stressful lifestyle turning to shopping to reduce their stress level. Next, if someone has family members, friends, and/or colleagues who model such behavior, this person is more likely to pick up the pattern of excessive purchasing and imitate accordingly.
Media also plays a crucial role on promoting excessive shopping. Shopping is often glamorized in magazine and store advertisements, TV commercials and programs, and those ads and commercials serve as stimulants or motivators for the viewers that help encouraging them to go out and shop until they drop. Moreover, credit cards have made shopping easier than decades before, and with the continuous advance in information technology, online shopping have also become highly acceptable for most shoppers because of convenience; these two factors work together to create an ever-booming business that keeps growing and growing. In fact, female shoppers actually contribute to the booming of online retail (Chao, 2005).
In many countries, when people feel lonely, depressed, anxious, angry, or out of sorts; many of them will embark on a shopping spree in order to make themselves feel better (“Type of addiction – Shopping”, n.d.). Studies have shown that people who have tremendous pressure, manic depression, or melancholia are more likely to shop compulsively, and because women are more likely to experience depression and anxiety disorders, shopping addiction affects women far more than men. Dr. Benson (2000) states in her book I Shop, Therefore I am that as many as 25% of Americans have problems with buying, studies suggest that 1 to 6% of them are fully-fledged compulsive buyers. Recently, an estimated 8% of people in the United States are affected by shopping addiction (Bhat, 2004), and according to Ronald Faber, Ph. D., of the University of Minnesota, approximately 90% of shopoholics are women (Psychology Today, 1995). Moreover, many shopping addicts tend to be perfectionists (Psychology Today, 1995).
When Women go through a vacuum in relationships and may not always experience fulfillment in intimate relationships, they tend to fall prey to shopoholism because shopping, a culturally acceptable frequent activity for women, helps them assert themselves and take charge; they can gain a sense of worthiness and happiness just stepping outside the house (Bhat, 2004). In additions, women are also more likely to have a low self-esteem, and shopping is possibly the way for them to boost their self-esteem, so “boosting self-esteem might be the key motivation behind compulsive buying” (Psychology Today, 1995). For those who with a low self-esteem and love to shop, their mentality is probably like this: “If I buy a lot, I’ll be treated like a VIP,” because the ability to spend a lot of money equals to power, status, and respect from others. Next, self-esteem may relate to what women buy. For women who shop obsessively, the preferred items of purchase include cosmetics, clothing, shoes, and jewelry – things that enhance their appearance (Psychology Today, 1995).
To sum up, although what exactly causes shopping addiction is unclear at this moment, researches have suggested that psychological, biological, and social factors all contribute to such a compulsive behavior.
Characteristics of Shopping Addiction
According to Dr. Engs (2005), women with shopping addiction often have racks of clothes and possessions, and the price tags are still attached to those things. It is also common that those merchandises may still be in their original packaging, piled up inside the closet without even being noticed or used. When they go to the shopping mall, they may intend to purchase only one or two items, but they frequently come home with bags and bags of merchandise. In some cases, addicted shoppers experience an emotional void and cannot even recall that they have bought those items.
Although most compulsive shoppers are women, some men also shop compulsively, and there are differences regarding why and what between women and men. Women tend to consider that possessions are symbols of emotional attachment and interpersonal integration, and female shopoholics prefer to purchase clothes, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, kitchen items, and home decorating products. Some women will buy almost anything. On the contrary, men tend to consider that possessions are valuable because of they are pragmatic, instrumental, self-referent (“What is shopping addiction”, n.d.), and can represent their status (Chang, 2005). Male shopoholics are more likely to purchase technological items such as electronics, computers, mobile phones, and cars excessively (Chang, 2005).
Signs of Shopping Addiction
Hatfield (2004) suggests that people need to look out for the following signs when they think shopping has become a problem for their family members or friends:
A. Spending over budget: when people spend over their budget and well above their income, they run into the risk of deep financial trouble. For people who shop appropriately, they know what they can afford and can’t. However, shopolohics do not recognize the boundaries of a budget; they just go out and buy.
B. Compulsive buying: when a person goes out to shop, if she or he plans to buy one pair of shoes but eventually come out with ten pairs, this person is shopping compulsively.A chronic problem: shopping addiction is actually a continuous issue. As previously mentioned, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and department store anniversary sale are times that trigger compulsive shopping, along with the seasonal sale of many stores, shopping addiction has become a year-round problem.Hiding the problem: people who shop addictively will hide their merchandises after they shop because they do not want their significant other(s) to know they have spent too much, and they do so because they are afraid of being criticized. Also, these people often have secret credit card accounts. Shopping addiction affects mostly women as alcoholism affects mostly men, so husbands may one day suddenly be informed that their wife is thousands of dollars in debt and they must pay for it. In many cases, this has come out in divorce. In some cases, compulsive shoppers may take on an extra job to earn more and pay for their bills.
C. Impaired relationships: it is common that shopoholics have impairments in their relationships due to their excessive spending or shopping. People who shop compulsively spend time away from home to go store after store for shopping, or in some cases, spend far too much time in front of the computer to shop online even if they are at home. Time after time they cover up debts with various kinds of deception, meanwhile beginning to isolate themselves physically and emotionally from family, friends, and other people. They become preoccupied with their compulsive behavior.A pattern, trend, or consequences: if a person spends more money than she or he intends during the holiday season, this does not make her or him a shopoholic because it is normal for people to bring home more purchases than usual around holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, if there is a pattern, trend, or consequences that occur with a person’s excessive shopping, then she or he is losing control. In other words, this person has no control over her or his shopping; this person is controlled by her or his shopping, and thus becomes a problem shopper.
It is interesting that many compulsive shoppers experience heightened sensations, because the colors and textures of items displayed in store intensify shoppers’ sensations during a shopping binge. Some shoppers even claim that they reach extreme levels of focus and concentration when they look one store shelf after another. A few shoppers liken the experience as taking drugs, and some others even discover that their shopping trips are sexually stimulating (Psychology Today, 1995).
A typical scenario of excessive shopping is like this: when compulsive shoppers feel bad, they go out to shop to get a high, or get a rush just like people with drug or alcohol addiction (Engs, 2005), in order to get over or get away from such negative feeling. It is not uncommon for some of them to take their purchases back afterwards because they feel guilty after spending so much money. These people may not have any debt due to their continuous returning of merchandises, but they still have a problem. With or without returning their merchandises, such guilt helps increase these people’s level of anxiety or depression and trigger another shopping spree. After shopping for more, they experience a higher level of guilt, too, which once again increase their stress or frustration even more. In other words, they may regret afterwards, but they will keep on shopping anyway. Therefore, compulsive shopping becomes a vicious circle, a non-stop downward spiral.
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