There's a sensation known as “shopping therapy” or “retail therapy,” where people go shopping to feel better about them or getting something to perk up their self-esteem. In spite of the dangers of getting addicted, shopping treatment does appear to work in some cases.
Looking at ad campaigns
Just one of many gloomy phrases used in Lucky magazine’s ad campaign “my boyfriend dumped me via text” is something you may see around. The magazine is working hard to get more customers to purchase clothes and magazines to fill some sort of “void” in their life. The campaign is being shown everywhere to get more customers, according to Time magazine. The phrases are all depressing in some way or another.
It would be ridiculous to complain about consumerism and materialism in a rant since there really is benefit for shopping therapy sometimes. The magazine wants people to shop to feel good.
Therapists costs too higher
According to the Daily Mail, a study published in the Journal of Psychology and Marketing, a business and marketing psychology journal, found that people who had made purchases while engaging in shopping treatment generally did not suffer buyer's remorse and generally felt more satisfied and happy after making such purchases.
A study by researchers in Taiwan, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, published a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health in 2011 that revealed health benefits of retail therapy for seniors. People in the study aged 65 years or older who went shopping often, regardless of having a higher instance of consuming alcohol and smoking, were found to be in better physical and mental condition than anyone who chose not to.
There was a “27 percent lower risk of death” as well, which is a pretty unclear statement that was not clarified by CBC.
Depending on how much one spends doing it, it might be cheaper than an actual therapist, as psychotherapy plus medications can easily send a person running for short term loans.
Men spending more money than women
Men could be more interested in shopping therapy than women, according to an NPower survey. The survey showed in 2011, according to Technorati, that men spent 6 pounds, or $10, more than women did per week on impulse buys. Men were also more likely to purchase junk food and movies than anything else.
Men were seen shopping more than women online too, according to an Australian study at Melbourne’s Swinburn University. It showed men spending AUS$242 while women spent AUS$165 a month on online shopping. In 2007, those numbers were at AUS$180 and AUS$179 a month, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
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