Retail therapy is

shopping Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A Retail#Shopper profiles, typology of shopper types ha ...

with the primary purpose of improving the buyer's mood or disposition. Often seen in people during periods of depression or

stress Stress may refer to: Science and medicine * Stress (biology), an organism's response to a stressor such as an environmental condition * Stress (linguistics), relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable in a word, or to a word in a phrase ...

, it is normally a short-lived habit. Items purchased during periods of retail therapy are sometimes referred to as "comfort buys" (compare

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may app ...

). The name ''retail therapy'' is

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

and semifacetious, acknowledging that shopping hardly qualifies as true

therapy A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

in the medical or

psychotherapeutic Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

sense. It was first used in the 1980s, with the first reference being this sentence in the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' of Christmas Eve 1986: "We've become a nation measuring out our lives in shopping bags and nursing our psychic ills through retail therapy." The fact that shopping may provide a short time of comfort (relief from

dysphoria Dysphoria (; ) is a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction. It is the semantic opposite of euphoria. In a psychiatric context, dysphoria may accompany depression, anxiety, or agitation. In psychiatry Intense states of distress and unea ...

), but also imposes costs and is subject to comedown and

withdrawal Withdrawal means "an act of taking out" and may refer to: * Anchoresis (withdrawal from the world for religious or ethical reasons) * ''Coitus interruptus'' (the withdrawal method) * Drug withdrawal * Social withdrawal * Taking of money from a ban ...

, make it, like

opioid Opioids are substances that act on opioid receptors to produce morphine-like effects. Medically they are primarily used for pain relief, including anesthesia. Other medical uses include suppression of diarrhea, replacement therapy for opioid us ...

use, either a therapy or an

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

, depending on whether each person uses it adaptively or maladaptively. Retail therapy thus exists on a spectrum with

shopping addiction Shopping addiction is characterized by an eagerness to purchase unnecessary or superfluous things and a lack of impulse control when it comes to shopping. It is a concept similar to compulsive buying disorder (''oniomania''), but usually has a mor ...

(

compulsive buying disorder Compulsive buying disorder (CBD), or oniomania (from Greek ὤνιος ''ṓnios'' "for sale" and μανία ''manía'' "insanity"), is characterized by an obsession with shopping and buying behavior that causes adverse consequences. According to ...

). In 2001, the European Union conducted a study finding that 33% of shoppers surveyed had "high level of addiction to rash or unnecessary consumption". This habit was causing debt problems for many. The same study also found that young Scottish people had the highest susceptibility to binge purchasing. A 2013 survey of 1000 American adults found that slightly more than half had engaged in retail therapy, with the practice being more common among women (63.9% of women and 39.8% of men); women were most likely to buy clothing while men were most likely to buy food. Research from professors at Youngstown State University found similar results (64% of women vs. 40% of men), with relief from anxiety being the most common reason for retail therapy. Researchers at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

have advocated its classification as a psychological disorder called oniomania or compulsive shopping disorder.

Window shopping Window shopping, sometimes called browsing, refers to an activity in which a consumer browses through or examines a store's merchandise as a form of leisure or external search behaviour without a current intent to buy. Depending on the individua ...

can offer some of the comforts of shopping. The advantage is that many items and many stores can be enjoyed without cost far more than spending would allow. The disadvantage is that one cannot acquire or keep the items.

Notes

{{Reflist

References

''Observer'' "Shopping can make you depressed" May 6 2001 Accessed 20 April 2006

* ttps://www.cnn.com/2013/07/17/opinion/drexler-shopping/index.html ''CNN'' "How shopping makes you happy" July 17, 2013 Accessed 11 July 2018 Treatment of mental disorders Shopping (activity)

See also

Notes

References