It's late, you're scrolling on your phone and suddenly feel a strong urge to buy something - only to wake up the next day and regret it. But what happens when those impulse buys become a habit rather than a one-off? One global study suggests 7% of adults, external experience shopping addiction, external - an uncontrollable urge to spend despite the financial consequences - and younger women are more susceptible.
Ella Hewitt, from Liverpool, says her shopping addiction got so bad in 2021 that she was spending up to £700 a month on fast fashion she couldn't afford and sometimes never even wore. "I didn't grow up with much money, so when I got a job I would spend my wages as soon as they hit my account," says the 24-year-old. "That dopamine hit kept me shopping and in the world of social media there is just so much encouragement to do that." She says she would often make purchases on TikTok or Instagram when she was "tired" or "bored", lured by the latest trends on her feeds.
She was working as an HR assistant in a school at the time and her spending meant she couldn't afford to move out of her family home. "Horrified" by how much she was buying, she began using diversionary tactics to control her spending. One was to put anything she felt like buying on a wish list and wait 30 days.
"If I still wanted it, I would buy it, but more often than not I'd find the urge had gone," she says. Ella gave herself an imaginary budget of £1,000 each day to spend on imaginary purchases, which "scratched the itch" of shopping without the cost. And she vowed only to buy something if she could afford to "buy it three times".
"Overall, I cut my spending by about 60%," says Ella, who now works as an ethical fashion influencer and plans to launch her own clothing brand. There are times when I will buy things because I want it. But I am way more in control." The Ukat Group, which runs addiction treatment centres across the country, says it has seen more people with a shopping addiction and 90% are women.
It says there are various signs you may have a , externalproblem, external, such as your mood improving immediately after making a purchase, or feeling guilty or ashamed afterwards. You may also lie to loved ones about your spending habit or have a home "full of items you don't need or use". Wait 48 hours or longer before you purchase something.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
