Retail Therapy: Why we spend more when we’re stressed

Author: Emily Zhao

Editor: Amie Jin, Winnie Mok

Imagine the immense stress of exam week: constant assignments piling up, presentations to prepare for, and midterms to cram for. Even worse, imagine failing a test that you studied for countless hours. What would make you feel better? After a difficult week, walking into your favorite store and impulsively buying something certainly seems like the best way to wind down. When sad or anxious, you can’t help but buy that specific sweet treat, those new clothes, or a brand new game upgrade. These urges for spending money stem from retail therapy: the act of shopping to avoid facing problems and to improve one’s mood.

If you wonder why you always spend money, take a moment to reflect on the reasons behind it. Many people turn to retail therapy specifically to boost their mood, help their self-esteem, give them control, and de-stress. It may sound tempting at the moment as you spot new items you want to purchase or unexpected products you never realized you wanted. In the short term, retail therapy provides various benefits, particularly the anticipation of purchasing an item, triggering a dopamine release in the brain. Yes, it feels amazing in the moment, but it does not last once you arrive at the realization that you have overspent after promising not to. Therefore, even though retail therapy provides temporary happiness, it often leads to overspending, major guilt, and dissatisfaction with your purchase in the long run. After securing one product, you end up in a cycle of looking for related items, and become trapped in a never-ending loop of spending and regret.

Additionally, with constant social media trends, many new products are being advertised to entice you to spend your money. Famous influencers constantly post large hauls consisting of the newest food menu items, makeup, skincare, and clothes. In fact, you probably recognize many of these products: some key examples include Labubus, Sonny angels, Dubai Chocolate, and other various blindboxes. If you have purchased any of these, have you truly been happy with your decision? Do you feel as if your money has been wasted? To boost your mood, you, too, might fall victim to overconsumption, as retail therapy can be a way to justify unnecessary purchases. If you regularly make impulse purchases, over time, you will end up in financial debt, as your purchases will depend on your mood rather than your budget. As young adults and teenagers who do not have stable incomes, what would happen if you felt the impulse to buy something new every week?

Furthermore, there are other ways to cope rather than resorting to retail therapy. In a generation surrounded by technology, consider going to a new place or connecting with nature to de-stress rather than spending your time bed-rotting on Instagram reels, TikTok, or YouTube shorts. Retail therapy may seem like the best option, but be cautious and refrain from it. It provides temporary happiness and may be enjoyable in moderation, but eventually, relying on retail therapy for emotional support can be severely harmful to your mind and money.

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References

Cleveland Clinic. “Why Retail ‘Therapy’ Makes You Feel Happier.” Cleveland Clinic, 10 Dec. 2024,

health.clevelandclinic.org/retail-therapy-shopping-compulsion.

“The Roots of Retail Therapy.” Psychology Today, 2024,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/consumption-and-lifestyles/202410/the-roots-of-retail-therapy.