Compulsive buying: A review and update (2023)

FAQs

What psychological issue is associated with compulsive buying? ›

Compulsive buying can result in substantial debts, legal problems, personal distress, and marital conflict. Empirical research demonstrates that compulsive buying has psychiatric comorbidity with depression, impulse control disorders, eating disorders, alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence, and anxiety.

People who engage in compulsive spending tend to use it as a coping mechanism. When faced with uncomfortable feelings like anxiety and depression they will feel the need to go shopping. In this case, spending money provides a brief reprieve from negative emotions.

Shopping allows us to focus on one specific thing, a tunnel vision that makes us feel in control while other aspects of life may not be. Impulsive shopping and spending money is a coping mechanism many people use to feel better.

Treatment for compulsive buying disorder includes cognitive behaviour therapy, which has been found useful as it gives people skills to manage the compulsion and to deal with distress. It can also be treated with anti-craving medication that reduces the urge to engage in compulsive behaviours.

Compulsive spending also increased for those with stronger thoughts about achievement, which are often higher in people with bipolar disorder.

For many people with ADHD, it is hard to resist impulsive spending. Impulsivity is one of the major symptoms of ADHD, so it is not uncommon for those with ADHD to buy first and think later. Sure, impulsive spending may leave you with the challenge of storing all of your new purchases.

Personality traits also have an important role in impulse buying. Impulsive buyers have low levels of self-esteem, high levels of anxiety, depression and negative mood and a strong tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Some professionals classify compulsive buying as an obsessive compulsive disorder, while others liken it to an impulse control disorder [12]. Therefore, there is no one specific treatment for compulsive buying. Treatment for compulsive buying is determined by a provider after consulting with an individual.

Compulsive buying disorder is not officially recognized in the DSM. However, mental health professionals agree that this condition is a legitimate problem that can have a lasting impact on individuals and their loved ones, and treatment options are similar to treatments for other behavioral addictions.

Shopping anxiety can take two forms. You may find yourself compulsively buying to feel some relief or other satisfaction, or you may find yourself feeling worried and stressed whenever you go shopping. Shopping anxiety is treatable regardless of the underlying cause.

Why do I just want to spend money? ›

Overspending can happen for different reasons, such as: You might spend to make yourself feel better. Some people describe this as feeling like a temporary high. If you experience symptoms like mania or hypomania, you might spend more money or make impulsive financial decisions.

“Stress and anxiety are the most significant underlying causes of shopping addiction,” adds Sehat. Many people turn to gratifying behaviors as coping mechanisms, she says. “The endorphins released make the individual feel happy and less stressed.”

Compulsive buying disorder is tightly associated with excessive or poorly managed urges related to the purchase of the items and spending of currency in any form; digital, mobile, credit or cash. Four phases have been identified in compulsive buying: anticipation, preparation, shopping, and spending.

Due to his sense of entitlement - he feels that he is entitled to other people's money. His grandiosity leads him to believe that he should have, or does have more money than he actually has. This leads to reckless spending, to pathological gambling, to substance abuse, or to compulsive shopping.

Shopping Sprees

For some people who are depressed, it is not uncommon for compulsive buying -- in stores or on the Internet -- to serve as a distraction or self-esteem booster.

The first and most common psychiatric comorbid disease to look for in compulsive buying is depression. McElroy, Keck et al. (1994) [17] found that among 20 patients with compulsive buying disorder, 19 meet the DSM-III-R criteria for lifelong diagnosis of a major mood disorder, most often bipolar disorder [18].

Stimulants are the best-known and most widely used ADHD medications. They work quickly to reduce symptoms, including impulsivity, with effects lasting anywhere from four hours to 12 hours, depending on whether the formula is fast- or long-acting. Medications in this category include: Adderall XR (amphetamine)

BPD can cause all sorts of problems that can harm your finances, including: Impulsive behaviors like excessive spending: One of the diagnostic criteria for BPD is impulsive behavior that is potentially self-damaging. Many people with BPD spend money excessively, triggering emotional reactions and worsening symptoms.

Impulsive shopping often stems from a momentary temptation, while compulsive shopping is caused by a need to seek pleasure and relieve feelings of distress.

The 4 types of impulse buying are: pure impulse (like buying candy at the check out), suggestion impulse, reminder impulse, and planned impulse. For social commerce, suggestion impulse, reminder impulse, and planned impulse can all be triggered to convert a sale.

What is the most common impulse buy? ›

People with ADHD (especially women) tend to have lower levels of dopamine, so they often seek it where they can. The reward system in our brains is difficult to combat. This is why it feels so good at first to make impulsive purchases, and why it's so hard to stop.

1) Anxiety increases our likelihood of buying impulsively

Anxiety promotes impulsive shopping. Shopping impulsively, a.k.a., retail therapy, helps us feel better and gain some control over a situation that feels out of control. One study found that when sad people made shopping choices, it alleviated their sadness.

Indicators of Impulsive buying behavior

Spending lots of money than planned. Visiting businesses that often cause impulse purchases. Feelings of quick satisfaction following unplanned purchases. Frequently returning unplanned buying due to regret.

Most causes for compulsive shopping are psychological. Generally, a person will be having emotions of loneliness, depression, feel out of control in a particular area, and seek to spend money in order to relieve the stress.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) involves an extensive preoccupation with perfectionism, organization and control. People with OCPD have rigid beliefs and need to have control of themselves, others and situations.

Compulsive buying disorder is characterised by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding shopping and spending, which lead to adverse consequences.

Compulsive buying is chronic, repetitive purchasing that becomes a primary response to negative events and feelings. It is associated with craving and withdrawal and it is characterized by euphoria and/or relief from negative emotions. The prevalence rates of compulsive buying vary between 1% and 8% worldwide.

Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) is characterized by excessive shopping cognitions and buying behavior that leads to distress or impairment.

Why does shopping overwhelm me? ›

One contributing factor is the stress and pressure you feel from trying to find something so quickly. Make sure you schedule enough time ahead to look for items, and if that's not possible, intentionally schedule a couple hours for shopping and be sure to go into the stores with an open mind.

Overspending. Overspending or compulsive spending is another common response to financial trauma. This could look like anything from spending too much money on eating out or splurging on major purchases with money you don't have.

Five common money personalities are investors, savers, big spenders, debtors, and shoppers. Debtors and shoppers may tend to spend more money than is advisable. Investors and savers may overlap in personality traits when it comes to managing household money.

Despite the fact that people of all genders may shop too much, 80-94% of people seeking treatment for compulsive buying are women.

People with compulsive buying disorder frequently purchase items they do not use. While the emotional reasons for hoarding often vary, people with shopping addiction may develop hoarding disorder because they feel too guilty about the money they spent to relinquish the items they purchased.

By way of example, the study by Dittmar [22] is illuminating, as materialism is found to be the strongest predictor of individuals' compulsive buying from three samples (adults who had contacted a self-help organization, younger adults from a multinational corporation's consumer panel, and adolescents).

Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, hoarding disorder, impulse control disorder, gambling addiction, and substance use disorders are the most common psychiatric problems accompanying shopping addiction [35].

Compulsive buying is positively related to brand addiction, and brand addiction positively mediates the relationships between compulsive buying and debt avoidance, self-esteem and life happiness.

What is the psychology of buying Behaviour? ›

Consumer psychology is a specialty area that studies how our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and perceptions influence how we buy and relate to goods and services. Consumer psychologists investigate how the decision-making process, social persuasion, and motivation influence why shoppers buy some things but not others.

Narcissists are characterized by reckless and impulsive behaviours: binge eating, compulsive shopping, pathological gambling, drinking, reckless driving.

Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) is characterized by excessive shopping cognitions and buying behavior that leads to distress or impairment. Found worldwide, the disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 5.8% in the US general population.

Consumer Behavior Types. Experts agree that there are four main types of consumer behavior: complex-buying behavior, dissonance-reducing buying behavior, habitual buying behavior, and variety-seeking buying behavior.

There are four psychological factors that influence consumer behaviour: Motivation, perception, learning, and attitude or belief system.

There are four factors that determine the characteristics of consumer behavior: personal, psychological, social, and cultural.

Personality traits also have an important role in impulse buying. Impulsive buyers have low levels of self-esteem, high levels of anxiety, depression and negative mood and a strong tendency to develop obsessive-compulsive disorders.