Women Feel Guilty for Shopping but Can’t Stop

Retail therapy is not a myth as we might have believed five or so years ago, since it has been scientifically proven that women (and some men too) take comfort in the act of shopping, because it helps them deal with emotions, being used as some sort of safety net. That is not to say though that shopping doesn’t come with the obligatory guilt trip as well, as a new study shows most women feel remorse right after splashing out on something new, as the Daily Mail can confirm.

We’ve all been there: we’re out shopping, arms laden with bags and eyes sparking with the joy that we got some pretty good bargains and the anticipation of getting back home to try everything out. Next thing we know, we’re overwhelmed with a sense of guilt at having spent so much money, or having bought so many things that we really did not need, or at the idea that we’ll have to explain to our better half how we managed to blow through this much money in so little time, depending on the case. Researchers say we shouldn’t worry because guilt appears in all women, in some even before they are out of the store or before they pay for their purchase.

Numbers speak louder than words: eight of ten women feel remorse after a shopping spree, when, right after the initial sensation of exhilaration and good mood they are overcome with shame and guilt. Three quarters of them start feeling this way while they’re still in the shop – however, not one woman lets the guilt trip ruin her shopping spree, all of them choosing to deal with the consequences of their act at a later time. Even more, about seven percent of them shop even more to make sure the feeling of guilt is pushed back as much as possible.

“Life at the moment is full of stresses with money being right up there, but it’s difficult to break the habit of a lifetime. Going shopping now comes with more baggage so women are trying to find creative ways to justify their spree.” a spokesperson for Skinny Cow, the dessert brand that commissioned the survey, tells the Mail about the findings. Attributing to shopping an emotional value it did not have before would also explain why recession has failed to alter women’s shopping patterns in any way, except to make them splash even more money on clothes and accessories.

This also explains why men are actually cutting down on their expenses during recession, when they seriously start to fear for their job, as gender marketing expert Diana Jaffe says for the same publication. “Women are also worried about their jobs. But not to the extent that their mere existence is being threatened and so they are in the mood to buy.” Jaffe adds.