an array of shopping bags with tissue paper grouped together on the floor

Shopping Addiction

Shopping Addiction is defined as the deficiency of impulse control which appears as the eagerness for constantly making new purchases of unnecessary or superfluous things. It is a concept similar to compulsive buying disorder and oniomania although these terms usually have a more clinical approach, related to a psychological individual disorder of impulse control. It is important to note that going a shopping spree once in a while does not mean you are a shopping addict.

What are the signs of Shopping Addiction?

  • Spending more than they can afford.
  • Shopping as a reaction to feeling angry or depressed.
  • Shopping as a way to feel less guilty about a previous shopping spree.
  • Harming relationships due to spending or shopping too much.
  • Losing control of the shopping behaviour.