The hidden costs of retail therapy

We all have different ways of cheering ourselves up. Some people unwind by watching movies. Some bake, read books or work on hobbies like painting or sewing. Some people even work out — experts say cardio is great for boosting your mood.

Some people skip the gym, though, and choose a different way to decompress: a little bit of retail therapy. As Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City” said, “Shopping is my cardio.”

There’s no right or wrong way to manage stress. Different coping mechanisms have different benefits and consequences, depending on how we use them.

“A coping mechanism is any kind of quick skill that you can use to help alleviate your stress or  improve your mood,” said Krissy Graham, a professor of Psychological Science. “It can give you a little dopamine hit — that’s what some refer to it as.”

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that makes us feel happy and satisfied. Buying something new can trigger the release of dopamine, making you feel happier temporarily.

“We have these reward centers in our brain, and there are certain behaviors that we get rewarded for,” Crista Murray, a psychologist and licensed clinical professional counselor, said. “One of the ways that we’re rewarded is with the neurotransmitter dopamine, and it’s what makes us feel good, feel satisfied and feel at ease.”

Does this mean we should pull out our credit card every time we feel stressed or sad? Experts say that while there are temporary benefits to the dopamine we get from shopping, you need to be careful not to become dependent on it.

“First of all, it’s really easy to blow a budget completely out of whack and put yourself at financial risk,” Graham said. “This could make you financially unavailable when something else comes up. It’s building a coping skill that can’t be sustained long term.”

Relying on making purchases every time you need to feel better can become a slippery slope, causing bigger problems in the future.

“If you take it to the extremes, you’ve kind of set the base for hoarding,” Graham said. “You have this coping skill where you acquire things, and acquiring things makes you feel good, and you can’t get rid of other things, and then you’ve started a form of hoarding disorder.”

Still, retail therapy can be beneficial for overall wellbeing if used in moderation.

“Anytime that people are working for their money and trying to earn their money, it’s important to have small rewards built in there,” Graham said. “Whether it’s seeing your savings account go up, whether it’s being able to go out with a friend, whatever it is. If you work all the time and you don’t ever get to enjoy it, then staying motivated and being positive about getting up and going to work becomes a big problem … So if it’s being used in that way, it can be healthy.”

Companies know that our emotions are driving forces behind our shopping habits, and they often use that to their advantage.

“Companies are really good at tapping into emotions to influence buying behavior,” marketing professor Niusha Jones said. “When done ethically, this approach strengthens brand loyalty, but it can also be manipulative if companies create unnecessary urgency.”

In physical stores, companies always try to encourage you to spend more money.

“Retailers are smart about triggering impulse purchases. The store layout, product placement and sensory stimuli are arranged to create a shopping experience that encourages unplanned purchases,” Jones said. “It’s all designed to make buying feel effortless and almost automatic.”

The dopamine we get from making purchases combined with smart marketing encourages us to use our emotions when shopping. 

“Emotions are a huge driving force behind what we buy,” Jones said. “People don’t just make purchases based on logic. They buy things because of how those things make them feel … Emotions help shape our decisions more than we realize.”

These factors contribute to an environment where it’s hard to recognize when we’re spending too much time and money on shopping.

There are better ways to improve your mood and alleviate stress than spending money. Pushing your feelings aside and relying on retail therapy to make you happy doesn’t actually solve the problem.

“There are a ton of ways to effectively manage stress in ways that are safe and inexpensive and not as destructive as some of these other things,” Murray said. “Effectively coping with stress first requires you to identify what is stressing you out, and then see if you can manage that piece of it. Limit your access to whatever’s causing you stress, find a different way of thinking about it and make a change to alleviate it.”

Hobbies or activities that don’t require you to spend money regularly are better alternatives. 

For people whose shopping habits turn into dependency or addiction, it’s a good idea to reach out for help.

“The first step is to recognize that this is a problem,” Murray said. “The second step is to verbalize that to someone, whether it’s a counselor, a loved one or someone that you trust so they can help you decrease it or find better coping skills … Acknowledging that you have a problem and then verbalizing it to someone and seeking help, whether it’s with a professional or with a loved one, those are the places that we start.”

If you feel like you might need it, don’t be afraid to ask for help. University Health Services offer counseling sessions where students can get access to helpful resources.

As fun as it is to treat yourself to some retail therapy now and then, it’s important to understand  that it can cause bigger problems if not used in moderation. It’s totally fine to treat yourself sometimes, but there are healthier ways to improve your mood and get those same happy feelings. Spending time with loved ones or working on new hobbies are great alternatives.

You could even try out some good old-fashioned cardio, just not the Carrie Bradshaw kind.