Shopping addiction a 'serious' problem in the UK

12/03/2009

One in four Britons are addicted to shopping - and are using credit as their "drug of choice".

According to a poll from Kensington Financial Management, "shoporexia" is proving a major problem in society, despite the credit crunch putting pressure on people's budgets.

The firm also suggested that the addiction far outstripped other, similar, types of obsessive behaviour - just 0.5 per cent of people were found to be addicted to gambling, for example.

One in four shoporexics said that they used credit to buy "non-essential" items - and half said that they had debts of over £2,500 as a consequence.

Stuart Parkin from Kensington Financial Management Consultants said: "We wanted to investigate the extent of shopping-related debt and to give people a gentle reminder of the more serious issues involved.

"Shopping can be fun, frivolous and great escapism, but serious addiction – and escalating debt - is a very different story."

Elsewhere on the survey, over half (54 per cent) of those polled said that shopping made them happy, while 84 per cent admitted that they bought on impulse occasionally.

Just under one in four (38 per cent) said that they felt "guilty" after a splurge.

Tags; Income Worries and Debt, Credit Card Lifestyle,

Regional Debt Advice; Debt Advice Kensington,

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