Retail therapy is shopping either online or in store when you are feeling upset, and you buy things to make yourself feel better. People use retail therapy as a coping mechanism in order to make themselves feel better about something that has happened or how they feel about themselves. Many people, especially teenagers, use retail therapy as a coping mechanism in order to relieve stress in their lives. 

There are benefits to retail therapy, such as you get the instant gratification of feeling better after purchasing something that you like, and it makes your overall mood better. Like everything else in life, retail therapy comes with negatives such as when you buy things in the heat of the moment, and you may realize later on that you don’t like what you bought. Some more negatives are the cost of what you buy can be more than you can actually afford, and if you tend to shop repeatedly, it can become an obsessive habit.

I personally love to shop, specifically online, but I never used retail therapy as a coping mechanism. I think that retail therapy has too many negatives, so I have never let my shopping habits get to the point that I need to shop in order to feel better about myself or something that happened to me. Although, I can see the appeal of retail therapy because it automatically gives you a feeling of happiness when you need it. 

Several students at THS gave their opinion on retail therapy. “It is a good thing when you are shopping, but then you look at your bank account and you’re sad,” senior Jordan Waller said. Waller also believes that people shopping because of retail therapy is good for retail stores. “I think that it is a good thing because you feel good about yourself, but also bad because you can lose a lot of money,” senior Hannah Newton said.

Senior Jamia Wiles also thinks that shopping as a form of therapy has its negative sides. “As an impulsive buyer myself, I think it is a temporary feeling, it is fun in the moment. But then you regret it in the future because even though you like the thing you bought, you don’t actually need it,” Wiles said. 

Retail therapy is considered to be an unhealthy coping mechanism that can affect people’s lives in a negative way. However, if it doesn’t become an obsessive habit and you make sure you can afford the items or services before you buy them, then it can be an acceptable habit to have. The most important thing while shopping is to be aware of how much you are able to spend and to ask yourself if you actually need what you want to buy.