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1. REDUCTION OF SADNESS

Research shows that retail therapy reduces sadness - especially the kind coming from perceived lack of control. It happens because making shopping decisions makes us feel like we're regaining some of that control back. For example, losing a job due to the current global state can make you feel like you're not in charge of your own life - shopping can offer a temporary solution by giving a chance to make decisions for yourself (Atalay & Meloy, 2011; Rick, Pereira & Burson, 2014).

This can become a slippery slope though - if we keep using shopping to cope with sadness over and over again, it can develop into an addiction. The brain forms new pathways and gets used to dopamine and serotonine (neurotransmitters basically giving you the feeling of reward & happiness, respectively) release during shopping so it can be very difficult to quit (Murali, Ray & Shaffiullha, 2012). Therefore, it is preferred to have multiple ways to cope with the blues.

2. SHOPPING MOMENTUM EFFECT

We are more likely to make an impulse purchase when we're already buying something. Studies show that when our mind is primed with an initial purchase, it becomes easier to go down the rabbit hole of additional unplanned impulse buys (Dhar, Huber & Khan, 2007).

3. ONLY GOING TO A SINGLE STORE

Research shows that going to only one store increases the chance of making an impulse purchase. It happens because the anxiety of missing out is lower during a multistore trip as there are more potential options in other stores (Bell, Corsten & Knox, 2011).

4. EGO DEPLETION

Studies show that we are more likely to impulse buy when our self-control resources are depleted. For example, imagine going for lunch and restricting yourself from having a dessert because you're on a diet. If after lunch you go shopping, you're more likely to impulse buy something as your self-control resources are partially used up on resricting yourself from ruining yourdiet (Sultan, Joireman & Sprott, 2012).

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Reference list:

Atalay, A. S., & Meloy, M. G. (2011). Retail therapy: A strategic effort to improve mood. Psychology & Marketing, 28(6), 638-659.
Bell, D. R., Corsten, D., & Knox, G. (2011). From point of purchase to path to purchase: How preshopping factors drive unplanned buying. Journal of Marketing, 75(1), 31-45.
Dhar, R., Huber, J., & Khan, U. (2007). The shopping momentum effect. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(3), 370-378.
Murali, V., Ray, R., & Shaffiullha, M. (2012). Shopping addiction. Advances in psychiatric treatment, 18(4), 263-269.
Rick, S. I., Pereira, B., & Burson, K. A. (2014). The benefits of retail therapy: Making purchase decisions reduces residual sadness. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(3), 373-380.
Sultan, A. J., Joireman, J., & Sprott, D. E. (2012). Building consumer self-control: The effect of self-control exercises on impulse buying urges. Marketing Letters, 23(1), 61-72. [/tintuc]