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July 24, 2025
Will Retail Therapy as a Form of Self-Care Become Even More Popular in the Future?
It’s a tale that’s been told for generations: If you’re feeling a touch of the blues, perhaps opening your wallet to go on a shopping spree could turn things around.
That seems to the mantra for many contemporary Americans as well, according to LendingTree survey data, with a few surprising twists on the pre-existing take.
The most striking pair of results: Nearly half (47%) of U.S. consumers polled indicated they take part in retail therapy to improve upon their mood, and an even greater cohort (54%) indicated a belief that doing so was a form of self-care.
“That doesn’t mean it’s something that should be encouraged, but it’s something that most of us have done at one point or another,” said Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst for LendingTree.
“It can even be OK in moderation. However, when it happens too often to too large of a degree, it can be a real problem in a hurry,” he added.
Retail Therapy, Emotional Shopping May Not Be Entirely Without Risk
Schulz’s words lead to a deeper dive into the stats, including the following findings:
- Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents said that emotional shopping had led to them overspending.
- And 44% said that retail therapy in the form of emotional shopping had negatively impacted their financial health. This figure trends upward among those with kids younger than 18 (52%), Gen Zers (49%), and millennials aged 29 to 44 (50%).
- When asked what purchases were made during bouts of retail therapy, the most common categories pointed toward included food (63%), clothing and accessories (54%), personal care and beauty products (42%), entertainment (36%), crafts or hobby products (29%), home-related goods (28%), alcohol (28%), electronics (27%), and vacations (22%).
Perhaps surprisingly, when it comes to the following moods which spurred consumers to engage in retail therapy, happiness topped the list (46%), followed by excitement (45%). Stress wasn’t too far behind, however, coming in at 42%, while boredom tagged along at 41%. Anxiousness (27%), sadness (also 27%), loneliness (24%), and romantic (22%) emotions followed.
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Could Potentially Drive Even Greater Emotional Spend
While retail therapy may have been a bit more difficult before the proliferation of credit cards, the introduction of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services into the mix has seemingly added fuel to the fire, whether one views the current picture positively or negatively.
LendingTree survey data highlighted that over half (52%) of emotional spenders said that BNPL loans had increased the likelihood of them engaging in retail therapy.
Breaking down the numbers, zoomers (62%) and millennials (55%) were most likely to state that BNPL loans increased the likelihood of emotional spending for them, and those parents of children younger than 18 (60%) were the most likely demographic of all to be spurred into retail therapy by BNPL availability.
“BNPL is definitely something that emotional spenders can get themselves in trouble with because these loans are so easy to get,” Schulz said.
“They’re far more accessible than even store credit cards, so the possibility of overspending is very real,” he added.
Discussion Questions
While retail therapy, or emotional spending, has likely been around forever, will the proliferation of easy credit in the form of BNPL increase the prevalence of the practice? Why or why not?
Is it surprising, in your opinion, that positive emotions drove more frequent interest in emotional spending versus negative emotions? How can retailers leverage this positivity to their advantage?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Lisa Goller
B2B Content Strategist
Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Gene Detroyer
Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.
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Shopping has always been a mix of function and fun. While this dynamic isn’t new, what has evolved is how consumers fulfill the functional side. Online and mass merchants now make it easier to get essentials, so this squeezes other players. The fun side needs to deliver different values that satisfy emotional needs. In physical spaces, it is about creating value for time and effort. But the thing that is true across all shopping is that experiences need to be as friction free as possible.
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I would never categorize retail therapy as a form of self-care because the potential to get out of hand is too high. Self-care is CARE, not maxed out credit cards. As for the question: Can BNPL potentially drive even greater emotional spend? My answer is, ya think?
Shopping is entertainment, and it could even be called recreational, but self-care is a stretch.
Second the motion!
There are some truly horrifying anecdotes about customers using BNPL to purchase essentials. It’s a great way to make the occasional splurge, but taking on debt for the basics should give customers pause.
“Horrifying” is an appropriate word.
Let’s not kid ourselves: any form of credit is BNPL. The only meaningful distinction I can think of is that retaillers aren’t examining the creditworthiness of customers (as well as they should)…but that’s not really the fault of the format. I think it has more to do with most credit sales going thru third party card-isuers rather than in house.
BNLP makes products accessible to more consumers. Easy credit could enable more emotional spending and impulse buys by making payments seem manageable.
“Nearly half (47%) of U.S. consumers polled indicated they take part in retail therapy to improve upon their mood, and an even greater cohort (54%) indicated a belief that doing so was a form of self-care.” I think these folks need some help in “self-care”. How do they feel when the bill comes in?
If this is so, Americans have a serious culture problem.
“Zoomers (62%) and millennials (55%) were most likely to state that BNPL loans increased the likelihood of emotional spending.” Are we not teaching basic personal economics in school? How is this satisfactory? One should never buy a product when its lifespan is less than the lifespan of the product itself…Or “Should I say the joy it may bring when the bill comes in?”
I miss the days of “lay-a-way” when you had to pay-off an item BEFORE you were able to own it. Be that as it may, the US is made up of consumers who are bred to acquire things. As long as brands position their goods as solving for problems and elevating or defining status/personality, we will see shopping as a self-help application. Making it easier to consume will definately encourage more impuse buying but brands will need to be prepared for potential higher returns and post purchase dissonance which could inflict negativity on the brand itself.
I couldn’t help but notice the similarities as consumers strive to feel good. Retail therapy works the same as comfort eating in that both hijack the brain reward systems: dopamine release followed by temporary mood elevation. Just as stress eating triggers immediate serotonin from sugar/carbs but leads to energy crashes and guilt, emotional shopping provides instant gratification followed by buyer’s remorse and financial stress. We’re essentially “binge shopping” the same way people binge eat. Additionally, I would never call it a form of self-care, which is about rest, restoration, and genuine recovery; let’s not confuse stimulation with restoration. As to BNPL, it is a well-designed spending accelerant that rewards the present for future regrets.
Rest and Restoration…!!!
Seriously? What’s next…Big Mac’s as self-care? Martini’s as self-care? In the country with the highest per capita spend on health care which results in low to moderate health outcomes, we want to talk about the self indulgent maxing out of our credit cards as self-care? Of course emotions, both positive and negative, drive so many purchases. That’s the whole ‘want’ side of the equation. Customers have emotional connections with their favorite brands based on they make them feel. Even ‘need’ purchases have emotional drivers. But equating a momentary emotional fix with self-care seems like a pretty slippery slope to me.
Shopping has always been emotional, and now emotions are influencing behavior more than ever. Calling it self-care shows how consumer behavior is changing. But frequent emotional spending, made easier by BNPL, often leads to regret.
When short-term relief turns into long-term financial pressure, it is no longer self-care. Retailers should understand how emotion and easy credit drive purchases.