When retail becomes therapy: Why and how to shop for ourselves.
Shopping - while a key indicator of a country’s economic and social state, it is also representative of an individual’s personal and emotional wellbeing. With the rise of online shopping and popularized terms and quotes such as “Retail therapy”, “Shopping is my cardio”, or “Online shopping gives me a reason to live for another 3 to 5 business days,” – consumerism seems to have reached new heights, recognition and norms. Which begs the question of - why do people spend?
Beyond needs, more wants are being fulfilled through physical and online malls. Relatively new and giant globalized spaces such as Amazon, Shein or Taobao are oscillating feelings of excitement and physical material goods in and out of homes - at alarmingly new numbers and speeds, re-fashioning shopping experiences through apt strategies. And while some may term it a time of mindless materialism - we think it is more than that.
Today, we explore the therapeutic effects of shopping on an individual, and delve into how and why we spend. By better understanding the self and the shopping process, we can improve mindfulness towards the modern culture of shopping – and hopefully start to shop on our own terms, while recognising others’ own.
A Brief Background on Consumerism
Shopping is a complex practice with multiple interacting layers. In modern society, consumers operate on new levels of needs and wants - often as a form of reward, a psychological lift, a source of comfort, or a remedy to identity crises.
Already way far off from the lowest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, most people residing in affluent and developed countries today are barely thrilled by fulfillment of basic needs - but are rather more ecstatic and content when able to fulfill the highest level of need involving emotion and personality (Pooler, 2003).
The shift in priorities has transformed shopping into not one of basic necessity but one that provides emotional and sensory experiences - thereby preceding our leap into the age of retail therapy: shopping for emotional fulfillment.
More than this, shopping is also a culture within the larger society of which every individual operates in. Almost daily, we participate in the ceremonial act of shopping, following its customs and conventions - making shopping an arguably “invisible element of our daily culture” that has become central to our lives (Pooler, 2003).
The culture of shopping, amplified by traditional and social media, has also crafted a new set of norms surrounding spending. By presenting it as a positive experience and even a rite-of-passage for certain items (eg. Designer handbags, first car or home, engagement and wedding diamond rings, honeymoon) - it has normalised larger expenditures that would be unthought of in older generations, but yet has become expected of current society. Fluctuating lifestyle and fashion trends keep people shopping to stay in style. Although it may not make much economic sense in comparison to how people lived before, it now makes emotional sense – transforming our relationship with shopping and the ways of which we approach spending (Pooler, 2003).
Coined as “lifestyle creep”, the term enters modern society as more shoppers become painfully bored and dissatisfied with basic items that fulfil their sensible and rational needs. Rather, our emotional needs that do not exactly answer our logic - but soothes our not-quite-sound, agonizing psychological need for a heightened arousal - are gaining a growing importance. There is now an understanding and agreement within the shopping culture that a thirst for passion, excitement and sensation should accompany the shopping experience (Pooler, 2003).
In regards to a sense of identity, the replacement of dominating religious institutions and symbols with concepts of individualism, over the course of modernism, has arguably formed a marketplace whereby decisions are dependent on personal taste rather than family or community values (Cusack & Digance, 2008) - resulting in individuals possibly either losing or seeking new identities and chasing them through retail spaces.
2. Retail Therapy
Retail therapy refers to the practice of shopping as a method to manage one’s mood (Hazmin, 2022). Through the purchase of goods, a shopper attains emotional satisfaction, comfort, a sense of identity and a reduction in stress levels (Atalay & Meloy, 2011 ; Kang & Johnson, 2011 ; Lee, 2015 ; Zulauf & Wagner, 2021).
Quite clearly, the act is more than just billing your wallet or credit card. For the retail therapist’s client, shopping is a complex emotional and psychological process, a coping mechanism.
If your last emotional or therapeutic splurge was in the last month, you are barely alone. Over 100,000 adults of varying ages, income levels and demographics spanning over 23 countries – reveal that close to 80% of them splurge like you - to feel better (Danziger, 2023).
2.1 Emotional Communication
Emotional communication is a “process of mutual influence between communication partners’ emotions” (Shovmayanti et al., 2024).
Although commonly viewed as personal, emotions are in fact social and communicative (Geber & Hefner, 2019). Through both symbolic and non-symbolic expressions, we communicate and exchange our emotional knowledge (van Kleef & Côté, 2018).
When successfully communicated, an emotion becomes a socially shared reality - whereby the emotion exists not only within oneself, but also to the ones to which it is being communicated (Bartsch & Hübner, 2005). Taking this theory of emotional communication, shopping is an arguable form of communication as it expresses and shares our emotions - be it sadness, happiness or isolation.
Presently, emotional communication is indicated through retail therapy in several ways, including (1) Expression of emotion, (2) Self-understanding, (3) Emotional validation, (4) Comfort seeking, (5) Social interaction, (6) Social media and influence, and (7) Self-reward (Shovmayanti et al., 2024).
We will adopt this framework to approach shopping as one motivated by internal reasons and fulfillment, and make sense of how the practice provides therapeutic values.
3. Internal forces: Shopping for for the Self
3.1 Expression of emotion
Shopping as venting to improve moods, or distracting ourselves from our true feelings.
Emotions are a strong driver of consumer behavior. Documented as a proven mechanism to manage feelings such as boredom, stress and sadness, shopping is an efficient means to the improvement of personal well-being by providing direct therapeutic shopping values without having to confront our moods (Atalay & Meloy, 2011 ; Kacen & Lee, 2002 ; Kim & Chang, 2023).
Another reason for retail therapy working on our psyche as we vent with money, is often for a sense of restored control, especially when present negative emotions such as sadness strike us as situational forces outside of our own authority (Smith & Ellsworth, 1985).
Interestingly, the regained sense of personal control is suggested to be more true for feelings of sadness, as emotions such as anger are often attributed to people rather than situations, thereby limiting shopping’s capacity to reduce the residual emotions (Rick et al., 2013).
Additionally, the natural involvement of decision-making in shopping also enhances one’s sense of personal authority in personal life and environment (Inesi et al., 2011 ; Langer, 1975). Therefore the involvement of certain acts such as decision-making, self-expression and self-regulation makes shopping an effective regulator or manager of our sadness and long-term depression (Shovmayanti et al., 2024).
3.2 Self-understanding
Individuals internally communicate with themselves about what they need or want, for an improved mood. Involving reflection and self-awareness, it also allows for a form of social connection (Lee, 2015).
Apart from directly improving one’s sense of mood, retail therapy often holds more subtle personal meanings - especially relating to a sense of identity (Mick & Fournier, 1998 ; Shovmayanti et al., 2024).
Shopping acts as a form of self-expression where personality and desires manifest through one’s material possessions and frequented shopping locations (Lee & Yoo, 2021) - all of which the consumer can draw clues that indicate or define their identity and social group.
An example of self-actualization through shopping can be taken from the luxury market, where there is an increasing trend for shoppers to buy things purely for their exclusivity or expensiveness to affirm their psyche, utilising each item as a statement or status symbol which are heavily intertwined with their self-esteem, sense of self and personality (Pooler, 2003). These forms of shopping can cultivate self-respect and fulfil inner psychological needs within the shopper; and although seemingly illogical, the determined impulse, emotional justification and self-attachment to the products often result in continued engagement of such shopping behaviors (Pooler, 2003).
Some popular products that may fall into this category today include: Pokemon cards, Labubu dolls, Fine dining, Luxury travel etc.
3.3 Emotional Validation
A manner of providing emotional support to oneself, and sometimes employed as a form of compensatory behavior (Lee, 2015), or identity resonance.
Shopping provides a sense of accomplishment - when executed, it opens us up to feelings of purpose, value and function, helping us feel independent and capable (Pooler, 2003), validating our emotions.
It is also a ritualistic event that has become embedded in social relations, thereby acting as a method of self inclusion and exclusion from groups and settings one wishes to associate self with (Williams et al., 2001). With different retail locations having their own social identity and target market, this social geography of retail spaces may encourage or discourage shoppers to visit (Williams et al., 2001), depending on their emotions, sense of identity and validation of self.
An example of such a case can be considered through the endurance of tedious queues to acquire a newly-launched mobile phone. Successful procurement of the item may help one feel accomplished, it may be a brand and item that the person connects with, and the inclusion of oneself in such situations may help the person resonate with others in the queue - all of which validate oneself and provide the self with emotional support.
3.31 Compensatory Shopping
In a study of 246 female college students in the United States, therapeutic shopping values present a strong influence on shopping motivation, especially for weight-conscious females. The level of shopping motivation is often moderated with negative mood reduction, making shopping an even more probable form of therapy for those preoccupied with weight and appearances (Lee & Yoo, 2021).
With this finding, one questions if self-conscious individuals’ emotions feel more validated when shopping?
In fact, the visibility of retail therapy is pronounced not just for self-conscious individuals, but even more so for battlers of low-self esteem who then turn to material goods as a form of self-compensation (Yurchisin et al., 2006). It appears then that more than validation, they compensate with what they believe are inadequate within themselves, through their purchases.
Indeed, long and personal struggles with low self-esteem are shown to hold heavier impacts on, and greater predictability of, compensatory consumption, as compared to immediate negative emotions that are independent of compensatory behavior (Yurchisin et al., 2006).
Shopping to self-compensate may not be harmful if it successfully provides improved esteem and in turn validating oneself. Conversely, failure to fulfil confidence can turn the shopping practice into a chronic and compulsive method, possibly bringing along other negative feelings such as stress, anxiety and reinforced emptiness. In such cases, the emotional validation may be absent; and seeking professional guidance in mental health would likely prove more beneficial over retail therapy.
3.4 Comfort Seeking
Products purchased can provide feelings of security, nostalgia or happiness. .
Shopping can comfort by acting as a distraction, social interaction or simply as a source of direct comfort (Kim & Rucker, 2012 ; Raghunathan & Corfman, 2006). People often look back at purchases motivated by mood-lifting with positive feelings (Atalay & Meloy, 2011), and are less likely to experience sadness while shopping (Faber & Christenson, 1996).
During stressful and challenging times, individuals also turn to unfamiliar levels of consumption as an adaptive coping mechanism to manage their levels of resilience and distress (Kim & Chang, 2023).
The example of global revenge travelling, or revenge luxury shopping (specifically in Korea) following the difficult period of COVID-19 underscores the lengths to which people may advance in order to recover their psychological state and soothe their feelings of anxiety, fear or helplessness (Kim & Chang, 2023).
Impulse buying behavior is also present within low self-esteem and life-satisfaction individuals, and since emotion remains the strongest driving factor towards dissonance-reducing behaviors for these cases (Nayebzadeh & Jalaly, 2014) – they may thus seek out shopping as a form of direct comfort.
The greater emotional activation and positive feelings that impulse shoppers experience address the group’s strong need for emotional arousal, thereby retaining them in the cycle of chronic and repetitive shopping behaviors - especially when the process is more incentivising to them rather than actual ownership of the purchased items (Dawson et al., 1990). Over a sample of 354 individuals, it was found that shoppers who turned to fashion products for therapeutic values were highly likely to be compulsive consumers, while compulsive shoppers were more likely to hoard fashion products (Noh & Hasan, 2017).
Despite often resulting in a high culmination of goods - due to the continued mediation of self and life satisfaction through retail therapy, the process is continued (Nayebzadeh & Jalaly, 2014).
3.5 Social Interaction
Either with friends or store-staff, positive emotional communications here can improve feelings of mood and connections (Jiang et al., 2019). This will be covered later on in the discussion of retail spaces.
3.6 Social Media and Influence
Through emotional communication occurring in the styles of online engagement (ie. Likes, comments), we can become influenced by friends or influencers to engage in consumerism (Boon-Long & Wongsurawat, 2015), and they can also have a direct effect on buying confidence.
3.7 Self-Reward
Practised as a form of rewarding self after certain milestones or achievements, communicating to selves that they are well-deserving of something good (Koch et al., 2012).
Self-gifting motivation can drive one towards retail therapy, even more than the positive feelings that may arise from unplanned purchases (Son & Chang, 2016).
In cases of self-reward and incentivisation, price consciousness has little effect on willingness to purchase, resulting in procurements of less-ordinarily purchased products such as luxury or trendy items - perhaps because these products function as a therapeutic desire to greatly reward or alleviate one’s mood after an achievement (Atalay & Meloy, 2011 ; Son & Chang, 2016).
Additionally, shopping as a form of self-reward is often to overcome self-control issues, although the effectiveness is dependent on the allure of the reward and the credibility of the threat or challenge – it can prove successful and empowering (Koch, Alexander 2009 ; Shovmayanti et al., 2024).
A cultured experience
Did you know? A survey across Australia, United States, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia reports that due to regional and individual differences in cultures, shopping behaviors are influenced and presented differently (Shovmayanti et al., 2024). After looking through the seven ways in which we relate ourselves to shopping - do you find yourself resonating with any in particular? More than what we physically buy, retail therapy can be used as a means of introspection - unfolding to us a deeper consciousness within ourselves and understanding why and how we act.
4. External forces: Conditioned Retail Therapy
Besides these personal factors within us - what else influences our trips to the mall, instead of a therapist’s office?
4.1 Marketing Strategies
As most of us are aware, it is also what is communicated to us about a product through companies’ marketing campaigns that create external forces pushing us to certain decisions.
By often emphasizing positive feelings (eg. Joy, confidence) through stories and narratives, companies’ marketing communications aim for emotional authenticity and resonance with their consumer markets, therefore increasing engagement and support (Shovmayanti et al., 2024).
To stimulate retail therapy, advertisements and communication materials are often appealing to one’s self-esteem and self-attachment to the promotional content; of which are also designed to improve self-reward motivation (Son & Chang, 2016)
Aesthetics and model attractiveness of retail spaces are utilised to shape consumers’ attitudes - with appearances having a direct effect especially in online spaces (Lee & Lee, 2019), while highly attractive models hold a lesser effect but provide aspirational qualities that consumers may attach themselves to.
Additionally, loss-leading strategies such as gifts with purchase and 1-for-1 deals are also employed by companies to increase unplanned buying tendency (Son & Chang, 2016).
4.2 Optimized Shopping Spaces: Interactions & Other senses
Apart from the team behind the scenes, who you are with on the ground can also affect the overall shopping experience.
Positive social interactions with friends and store staff can increase one’s feelings of social connection and emotional support, thereby reinforcing the positive components of shopping (Arnold & Reynolds, 2003 ; Hart & Dale, 2014 ; Wenzel & Benkenstein, 2018).
Inclusive sales staff and company imagery are also employed to improve sales and optics by appealing to wider diversity of people. For example, bigger-sized women who experience discomfort in shopping environments due to lack of confidence in seeking staff guidance and trying on clothes can lower purchase intentions; thereby prompting retail spaces to employ non-discriminatory practices (Seekis et al., 2024).
Appropriate sales assistance in stores also produces a new hedonic motive for shopping by combining product and experiential motivations; when a store visitor seeks out a store to purchase a want or need (product motivation) and is able to engage in pleasurable conversations about the product (experiential motivation) - a new hybrid motivation for shopping arises (Dawson et al., 1990). This is especially pronounced in niche or luxury stores where staff are passionate or educated about the store’s offerings - allowing them a shared connection with the patrons.
To further minimize the chances of a window-shopper leaving a shop empty-handed, retailers - especially high-end ones, attend to our other senses as well.
4.21 Music in Shopping
While we assume music appeals to only our hearing sense, it also affects our perception and feelings. Interestingly, it appears that major keys combined with low complexity help us to moderate our moods, and in turn resulting in positive product evaluation (Raja et al., 2024). By incorporating correct musical elements in retail therapy, arousal and impulse control can be engineered towards positive moods, shopping intent and experiences.
Besides the store, the hosting mall also holds responsibility for attracting shoppers. It is common for shopping centers to aim for certain imagery that can increase the frequency of shoppers’ visits by improving the anticipation of positive emotions (Hunter, 2006).
The regularity of visiting a mall is influenced by not just desire and intent, but also anticipated positive emotions - which refer to the emotional consequences one expects during their visit (Hunter, 2006). Malls become increasingly thoughtful and elaborate in their architectures, directories and facilities to appeal to wider markets of people banking on a positive experience.
The use of music, space and signage in retail environments can therefore hold therapeutic effects and impacts on consumer intent and behavior (Aprianingsih & Melindra, 2018). Additionally, these external circumstances such as store setting and experience can inspire feelings that have stronger effects on shopping satisfaction, over internal attributions such as personal emotion (Machleit & Mantel, 2001). Never underestimate your surroundings!
5. Modern Shopping: Physical vs. Virtual Spaces
While the online marketplace has certainly increased the accessibility of retail therapies, has it increased our frequencies? Is it truly separate from our offline market space?
Research reveals that offline social interactions share a positive relationship with online shopping demand, while passive interactions carry a negative normative effect (Kim et al., 2019). Online interactions, expert advice and influencer characteristics within the virtual space are all critical factors to consumer behavior and trust (Shovmayanti et al., 2024). Clicking “add to cart” isn’t as personal as we think, and is not as immune to offline and external factors as we’d assume.
Furthermore, the ability for online shopping to accurately and efficiently recommend and present products aligned with personal taste, produces a new personalized experience with a stronger effect on individual emotional response (Ho et al., 2011) whilst raising intent to shop online by fulfilling the needs for a right service and product (Lee & Park, 2009 ; Pappas et al., 2014).
A study of 182 online shoppers revealed a direct positive relationship between personalization and purchase intent, whereby personalization arouses positive emotions while not stimulating or mitigating negative ones (Pappas et al., 2014).
Hedonic motivations also drive online impulsive buying tendencies, with pleasures often relating to adventure, relaxation and value-seeking (Ozen & Engizek, 2014).
Overall, positive emotions such as pleasure and arousal have a heavier hand over negative emotions in influencing one’s intent to purchase in the online space (Koo & Ju, 2010 ; Pappas et al., 2014), and with improved customizations of shopping experiences – one can find themself more susceptible to shopping online, even if they may not shop offline. .
6. Conclusion
For many reasons, shopping can bring us much relief, joy and validation - and is an action inspired by both internal and external forces. To avoid the mood-booster’s dreadful transformation into a stressful and guilty consumerism habit, the act of retail therapy should remain mindful and moderated. When we feel helpless against all the items lined up before us, decorated with enticing discounts and incentives, it may be helpful to remember that the whole consumerism process is a complex relationship within not just yourself as a buyer – but what you are being communicated to by sellers as well.
While negative feelings may lead or encourage us to shop, there is evidence that by exercising restraint, the controlled indulgence can lead to similar improvements in mood due to the feelings of personal authority (Atalay & Meloy, 2011 ; Shovmayanti et al., 2024). Unplanned buying can also provide a higher chance at lasting positive effects on mood, and a lower chance at causing regret and guilt (Atalay & Meloy, 2011 ; Saleh, 2012 ; Shovmayanti et al., 2024 ; Son & Chang, 2016).
So treat yourself, shop away spontaneously - but remember what, how and why you’re buying and avoid over-consuming. While shopping may provide ecstatic feelings and even function as a therapeutic activity, it’s important to not put all our eggs in one cart - I meant, basket. Include other hobbies, activities and people in your life who can help you feel fulfilled as well.
Should you feel like you have a disordered or unhealthy pattern of shopping, spending or mood, perhaps the following hotlines would prove useful*:
6389 2222 (Hoarding or mental health concerns)
3165 8017 (Behavioral addiction, including excessive shopping)
*Singapore hotlines.
Thank You for reading.
Namaste!
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