For some, a day of retail therapy offers a welcome boost. But what happens when shopping becomes compulsive?
Lucy, surrounded by clothing racks, describes spending up to 14 hours daily searching for new clothes as an escape, revealing the darker side of excessive shopping.
While it may sound appealing, the 37-year-old acknowledges that her compulsive shopping has negatively impacted her life.
She recounts a time when she prioritized clothing purchases over essential bills.
“It’s a physical and emotional drowning,” she explains. “I felt constantly weighed down by clothes.”
Lucy estimates that she owns so many items that they occupy an entire room in her home in West Yorkshire, along with several suitcases and a 35-square-foot storage unit.
“Clothes acted as armor to shield me from real-life emotions,” she says.
After creating a fashion Instagram account, her shopping “spiraled,” reaching £700 per week and accumulating £12,000 in debt.
“It was the first thing on my mind when I woke up.”
“You keep searching for clothes like someone continuously drinking, never quite achieving the desired level of escapism,” she recalls, as she continues her recovery.
She says that seeing influencers online with copious amounts of clothes “normalized” her habits.
It wasn’t until a therapist suggested she might have oniomania – the compulsive urge to buy – that she realized shopping addiction was possible.
She describes the moment in her NHS Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) session when she learned about the disorder as a “penny drop” moment.
Shopping addiction, also known as compulsive buying disorder or oniomania, is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to shop and spend, despite negative consequences.
The prevalence of this condition is not precisely known. A review of research suggests it affects around 5% of adults, but a more recent study indicates a potential rise to 10% since the pandemic.
Now, Lucy and others across the UK are advocating for greater understanding of the condition and increased support from the NHS.
“I believe resources are currently lacking. Research and understanding of oniomania are not as developed as with substance addictions,” Lucy states.
Natalie has what she calls her “cupboard of doom” containing over 10,000 household items in her Rotherham home.
For the 40-year-old, her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) “triggers” the urge to buy specific items, often in particular quantities and colors.
The cupboard includes 300 tubes of toothpaste and 3,000 washing pods.
“It escalated to the point where I couldn’t settle until my car boot was full of items,” Natalie says.
At the peak of her addiction, she shopped daily, spending up to £3,000 a month, including £1,000 on toiletries.
“I can’t stop, and I don’t want to. If I see something online, I need it, regardless of how I get it.”
The mother-of-one recently spent £1,000 on a flight – primarily on perfumes – and says she owns about 400 fragrances, acquired in just over two years.
Natalie, who works in private nursing, acknowledges the “massive effect” of advertising on her buying habits, spending around six hours daily watching perfume videos online when not working.
She has undergone therapy, both within the NHS and privately, but feels it was unsuccessful because she is not yet ready to stop, but is focused on trying to cut her shopping.
“I believe all addictions should be treated equally, with more NHS help and therapy available to those who want it,” she adds.
The BBC spoke with 15 individuals who identify as having a shopping addiction.
Many described mental health challenges, feelings of guilt and shame. One developed an eating disorder as a result, while another described the addiction as a “monster” in their life.
All felt that social media contributed to their addiction.
According to experts, the proportion of retail sales online has more than doubled in the last decade, rising from 12% in May 2015 to 27% in May 2025.
Digital advertising body IAB UK reports that advertisers’ spending on social media content grew by 20% last year, totaling £8.87 billion.
Zaheen Ahmed, therapy director at The UKAT Group, which runs addiction treatment centers nationwide, reports seeing an increase in individuals with shopping addictions.
He explains that the hormonal anticipation of a purchase can be similar to the reaction of a drug user getting a fix.
Mr. Ahmed states that social media use as part of smartphone ownership is “the new normal.”
“Social media significantly impacts our lives and contributes to our urges to buy, spend, and interact constantly.”
Shopping became a coping mechanism for Alyce, addressing issues related to self-confidence and self-esteem.
She began using Buy Now Pay Later schemes at age 18, which she now describes as a “gateway” to other forms of credit.
Eventually, Alyce, from Bristol, accumulated £9,000 in debt, spending up to £800 each month on new items, particularly clothing ordered online.
“The more packages I had to open, the more excitement I felt.”
“But once I opened the parcels, the buzz wore off, and I’d be sad again, so the cycle continued.”
“Social media is essentially a modern version of QVC, but one that younger generations readily consume,” says the 25-year-old.
Alyce, who works in business administration, has since overcome her addiction through therapy and is now almost debt-free.
“If I hadn’t done that, I don’t know where I would be,” she says.
“It genuinely changes your way of thinking and creeps into everything you do; your whole life revolves around payday when you can shop again.”
“It just becomes so overwhelming.”
The NHS acknowledges that addiction is possible to virtually anything, but there is no specific diagnosis for shopping addiction.
One reason is the lack of consensus among experts regarding its classification, with some viewing it as a behavioral addiction, while others link it to mood or obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Professor of addiction at the University of York, Ian Hamilton, says shopping addiction has “caught psychiatry on the back foot.”
The expert, with three decades in the field, believes we are still two or three years away from the disorder being widely recognized as a formal diagnosis.
Prof. Hamilton notes that the retail sector has adopted strategies used by the gambling industry to maintain online engagement.
“I don’t think it’s accidental that people find it difficult once they start this loop of spending, buying, feeling good, then having remorse.”
The academic adds that the rise of influencers is not a coincidence.
“It’s one thing to have an item described, but that doesn’t have the same impact as seeing a glossy, well-produced video that extols its virtues and only shows the positives.”
Pamela Roberts, a psychotherapist at the healthcare provider Priory Group, is clear: “We need to learn different coping strategies, but we can only learn them when it’s recognized as a problem – and that’s only done when it’s made official,” she adds.
An NHS spokesperson stated: “NHS Talking Therapies provides treatment for a range of conditions, including OCD, and provides practical skills and techniques to help cope.”
They added that anyone struggling with obsessive and compulsive behavior can contact their GP or refer themselves for therapy.
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