Consuming as Coping: “Retail Therapy” Revisited
Revisiting My Criticisms of “Retail Therapy”
We’re nearing that time of year again—Black Friday. So many irresistible sales! Do I need a new Dyson? Do I need new headphones? I can’t pass up a good deal! A little “retail therapy” can’t hurt every now and then, right?
Emotional spending and shopping addiction are issues I am trying to continuously think about. Perhaps it’s a reflection of my own personal history of using shopping as a way to feel better, which was modeled for me by my mother. Emotional spending also comes up quite a bit in my clinical work and I find it a bit strange that it’s a somewhat overlooked concern in the mental health space. I’ve observed that I’m always the first one to bring it up in consultation groups with other therapists.
My first dive into this topic was with “Black Friday With a Psychologist: Shopping Addiction and Retail Therapy,” which provides more of an introduction/overview than this installment. I think of emotional shopping, aka “retail therapy,” as a very limited form of emotion regulation. I’ve generally counseled people to treat shopping as a pleasurable activity done in moderation and to set boundaries with spending that align with individual financial goals. Nothing radical there. I’ve also supported people in learning some additional emotion regulation strategies, such as naming feelings, breathwork, meditation, and self-compassion. After all, if we have a variety of tools in our psychological toolbox, we won’t have to rely on habits that may not serve our best interests or cause us other problems.
This, I realize, is, well, kind of judgmental? I am judging shopping as a “bad” way of coping while I promote other strategies as a “good” way of coping. I might even frame it as “healthy” vs “unhealthy.” I usually don’t use these words directly but they’re implied. Sometimes, I take a step back and ask myself how true that is, how fair that is. I was once in a consultation group with other therapists who all agreed that drinking alcohol was a good way to cope and that we’re serving clients better by normalizing it than pathologizing it. I was the only one who had the reaction of, “Wait, what?” To this day, I’m undecided on the matter because it depends so much on the individual person’s problems and life circumstances. But it made me wonder how I might be pathologizing things that are not as harmful as I assume they are.
In this spirit of curiosity, I’m re-visiting the topic of retail therapy. My intention is to gain new information and a more nuanced understanding. I wanted to find some compelling research to play “devil’s advocate.” Below are some insights from my query on Consensus. The connection between shopping and mental health is one that has been studied quite a bit, especially in the disciplines of business, marketing, and consumer research.
Retail Therapy: 5 Insights From Research
Fashion-related online shopping is correlated with improved mood and higher sense of self-efficacy.
This study from South Korea divided female participants into two groups: the experimental group engaged in online shopping while the control group rested. The experimental group reported improved mood regardless of their mood before engaging in the shopping. This means that those with negative mood had better mood and those with positive mood and even more positive mood. The experimental group also reported a higher sense of self-efficacy, which is a person’s belief in their ability to act in ways that serve their goals or interests. Just a sidenote: self-efficacy is strongly associated with motivation, resilience, and well-being. In the control group, resting seemed to have some beneficial effect on mood but it was not as strong as the effect of online shopping in the other group.
My immediate reaction to this was that shopping is SO MUCH better in Korea than in other places so NO SHIT, SHERLOCK. I for one always have “improved mood” when I’m shopping in Korea. And then I put my PhD hat back on again and realized that perhaps it would be unwise to generalize the conclusions of this study because of the cultural specificity of Korean women online shopping in South Korea. Nonetheless, I think it’s worth considering that perhaps online shopping can be part of a well-rounded emotion regulation routine, as long as it does not cause financial hardship or problems.
Shopping can improve mood by providing the following: distraction, sensory experience, and opportunities to socialize.
This study examined how participants with negative mood felt after engaging in shopping. Some of the feelings they were trying to deal with before shopping included “stress, dejection, anger.” I think the most useful takeaway from this study is the idea that shopping provides opportunities to engage with others and takes on a social dimension that can feel supportive and mood-boosting. Remember during the pandemic how miserable we all were by the loss of “weak ties” in day to day life? This study about shopping kind of gets at that too. I’m also recalling that shopping is one of my favorite activities to do with my mother and sister and can be a connecting/bonding activity with people in our lives. Clearly, the findings of this study are really limited to shopping IRL because online shopping does not provide this potential for connection. One limitation of this study is that the participants were individuals who identified as people who use shopping in order to feel better, so the risk of bias is quite high.
Link to the article: Let’s Shop! Exploring the Experiences of Therapy Shoppers
People don’t necessarily regret what they bought when they were feeling bad.
This one really surprised me! This study found that retail therapy had lasting positive impacts on mood. In addition, the study also measured feelings of regret and guilt associated with unplanned purchases made to repair a bad mood and found those negative feelings were quite low. I admit I’m a little suspicious but it also reminds me to not make universal assumptions about people’s shopping experiences. Perhaps emotional spending can provide an accessible mood boost that is helpful some of the time.
Link to the article: Retail therapy: A strategic effort to improve mood
Shopping does help regulate emotions, depending on the motive.
According to this study, shopping can be used for emotional regulation and well-being, depending on the motive of the consumer. These researchers categorize shopping motives into four categories: affective-preservation, affective-growth, cognitive-preservation, and cognitive-growth. The other interesting point this article makes is that retail therapy does not actually have to involve any purchases. There are so many ways to engage in shopping without buying, such as “window shopping.”
Link to the article: The Therapeutic Utility of Shopping: Retail Therapy, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being
Retail therapy can lead to compulsive shopping.
This study concludes that retail therapy can be therapeutic for emotional regulation, but it also increases the risk of developing compulsive buying behaviors. The study points out that there is both benefit and risk in shopping in order to recover from negative feelings. Unfortunately, the study doesn’t provide more information about what might protect a person from developing a compulsive shopping behavior.
Link to the article: Retail Therapy: A Qualitative Investigation of Therapeutic Role of Shopping in Negative Affect
My Revised Perspective on Retail Therapy
I’m reluctant to admit that retail therapy can actually be therapeutic! But I think it has to be done with a lot of intention and self-awareness. There are so many mindless things we do to deal with stress, such as eating, binge-watching TV/YouTube, scrolling our phones, and yes, shopping. I think online shopping fits into this more than shopping in person but that might vary from person to person. The bigger picture is that it’s not ideal to have just one tool in your toolbox. If retail therapy is your “go to” mood-booster, I would suggest you get some other tools. The tools you use to regulate emotions ideally would not cost you something every time you use them (other than maybe a bit of time and effort). I think I am continuing to develop an increasingly nuanced view of emotional spending as a behavior that has short-term benefits.