Why shopping & retail therapy makes us happy
Don’t shop ‘til you drop! Here’s why you should be aware of shopping the sales and online shopping websites to feel happy
Text: Shannon T
In the words of Becky, the evergreen icon of shopping from Confessions of a Shopaholic, retail therapy is like “going hungry for days, and then cramming your mouth full of warm buttered toast”. Shopping is one of Singapore’s favourite past times, which isn’t surprising given the number of mega malls, department stores, quirky boutiques and thrift stores on our small island. Not even a global pandemic can stand between us and our shopping fix. The double-digit growth in e-commerce in 2020 speaks for itself, and in return shopping and retail therapy makes us happy.
But why exactly? Retail therapy refers to the practice of shopping when you’re feeling down. While formal therapy options require time, research and possibly money, some may turn to a satisfying shopping trip. The Soothe investigates the science behind retail therapy and buying things to work out if we can justify our emotional shopping sprees.
Why does shopping make us happy?
Retail therapy can be effective at improving a bad mood because treating yourself really does cheer us up, according to a 2011 study published in the journal Psychology and Marketing. Dopamine is released by our brains when we anticipate a reward, and in this case, when we buy things, hunt for a good deal or anticipate our online shopping scores in the mail. Not sure what this means?! When we link shopping (or any other activity for that matter) with pleasure, mere anticipation is enough to raise our dopamine levels.
The physiological arousal that our ancestors used to guard against predators has become what we use to beat others to the best shopping deals. Kit Yarrow, a San Francisco-based consumer psychologist and author of Decoding the New Consumer Mind, shares with BBC that when shopping at a sale, our body’s autonomic notice system (the one the triggers your fight or flight mode) reflexively takes control of some of our organs. This creates a heightened response in the body, similar to the one early humans had when encountering predators.
Another reason why we might feel happier when we shop is because it restores a sense of personal control over our environment when we make shopping decisions. A 2014 study from the Journal of Consumer Psychology tells us that while sadness is often associated with that feeling when outcomes are out of your own hands, the act of shopping restores feelings of personal control and autonomy that can beat feelings of sadness. When you buy something that you really like, the sense of control you gain multiplies up to 40 times more than not shopping.
“The study suggests that when you’re feeling like things aren’t going your way, getting exactly what you want through shopping can feel like a positive personal achievement,” clinical psychologist Scott Bea explains.
The dopamine effect
Unfortunately, buying things and shopping doesn’t solve all our problems. Experts share while retail therapy does bring on a surge in our happiness levels, those happy feelings are only temporary. They warn against relying on shopping to relieve negative emotions, suggesting that it can potentially be a slippery slope to compulsive shopping behaviours and overspending.
“If you’re concerned about developing a compulsive shopping behaviour, try to convert your goal of control to the excitement of a new, positive behaviour — like working out or eating healthy,” Dr Bea suggests. “You’ll be surprised at how happy you can feel working towards those positive results, too.”
If you are suffering with overspending or other compulsive behaviours, it can help to speak to a qualified mental health professional in Singapore who can provide trusted help and guidance.
