Covid has made online shopping addicts of us all

The writer is a clinical psychologist in Washington, DC who specialises in shopping addiction

Impulse-buy moments can happen to anyone. One evening last winter, I found myself tapping “buy” on a $300 sequin jumpsuit I will probably never wear. After months of being cooped up in virtual lockdown, I had an irresistible urge to acquire the carefree, Studio 54-type of life that the jumpsuit represented, even though my disco days have long been over.

Since the pandemic began, I have received a stream of requests for advice on how to curb shopping compulsions. Despite rising unemployment and economic struggles, online spending keeps breaking records. In the UK, the proportion of retail sales made online rose to 36 per cent in February, up from 20 per cent in the same month the previous year. Shoppers in the US deserted malls on Black Friday and instead spent $9bn online. This web-based activity may dip as shops open back up, and people feel comfortable in them again. But there’s unlikely to be a full or lasting reversal.

While there are many reasons why people shop, boredom, loneliness, depression and anxiety are the most common precursors to shopping on impulse. And since coronavirus, these are precisely the predominant emotions many have experienced. When lockdowns restricted activities that maintain wellbeing, such as dinner with friends, travel or a trip to the local swimming pool, many turned to their internet browsers for refuge. In one US poll, 72 per cent of respondents said they bought something impulsively during the pandemic to help lift their mood.

Shopping can provide escape into wished-for realities, distraction from uncomfortable feelings, and a sense of having control over aspects of our lives that, ultimately, may not be controllable. Like drugs, food and alcohol, shopping stimulates an increase in dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps lift mood and temporarily numbs us to negative emotions. The problem, of course, is that dopamine highs wear off, prompting a need to re-dose.

Early in the 20th century, psychologists Emil Kraepelin and Eugen Bleuler were the first to document problematic over-shopping, referred to then as oniomania from the Greek onios (“for sale”) and mania (“insanity”). They noticed individuals with the disorder experienced uncontrollable urges to shop, resulting in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity that often had negative repercussions. Psychologists have since identified an ingrained human tendency to turn to objects to help compensate for unmet needs. This starts in the cradle, with babies reaching for their favourite stuffed toys in order to ease the anxiety that arises from their parents’ absence at bedtime.

Turning to products for emotional comfort doesn’t stop after childhood. Shopping addictions are most likely to occur when feelings of depression and anxiety become more lasting. So as the pandemic drags on, shopping addictions risk occurring in increasingly more of us. Retail “therapy” — to use that poorly chosen phrase — can quickly become a vicious cycle. Buying products as a way of feeling more empowered or to escape from uncomfortable feelings can result in guilt due to over-splurging. This increased discomfort can, in turn, intensify the urge to shop.

The modern ability to command products to our doorsteps with the wave of a finger makes resisting these emotion-driven impulses even harder. At the same time, efforts to manipulate and accelerate consumers’ online buying behaviour has expanded and grown more sophisticated.

Analysts already mine data from computers, smartphones, fitness trackers and other gadgets with the aim of providing personalised product suggestions. The next step is the tracking of users’ emotional states in real time through voice, gesture, facial expressions and movements. Amazon, for example, has patented a technology that could allow its Echo smart speaker to recognise “happiness, joy, anger, sorrow, sadness, fear, disgust, boredom, [or] stress” and to respond to commands with “highly targeted audio content, such as audio advertisements or promotions”.

To counter this encroachment, we need to understand what motivates our shopping behaviour, as well as the tactics used by surveillance industries to manipulate these instincts.

If since Covid-19 arrived you have shopped more than usual, and want to stop, here is a suggestion. The next time you find yourself browsing online for a sudden must-have thing, take a moment to reflect on what you truly need. Do you really want a new sweater, or a sports toy for your child? Step away from the computer. It could be that what you are searching for is more connection, excitement, normalcy and joy.

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