Retailers are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to personalize their marketing and optimize the customer experience, but this poses significant challenges for those facing challenges. shopping addictiona leader Priory The addiction therapist warned with Black Friday (November 29) and Cyber Monday (December 2).
By analyzing browsing history and past purchases, AI delivers hyper-targeted product recommendations that are hard to resist. Plus, AI-driven dynamic pricing and personalized discounts create a sense of urgency, making the purchase even more tempting.
These virtual triggers can exacerbate an existing shopping addiction, and Pamela Roberts, Priory therapist urges at-risk individuals to take proactive steps to avoid the flood of marketing emails and app notifications that accompany two of the biggest online shopping events of the year.
“The abundance of data allows retailers to attract shoppers more effectively than ever,” she says. “Consumers are bombarded with online shopping options, forcing them to invest more cognitive effort to make rational decisions. For those who are addicted to shopping, it can be overwhelming and lead to impulse purchases. I am already seeing the impact on the people I support in my clinics.
Shopping addiction, a form of behavioral addiction, is characterized by an uncontrollable urge to shop despite negative consequences. This often masks underlying mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and low self-esteem. Contrary to popular belief, men and women are equally susceptible to this cycle of excessive spending.
“The digital shopping environment, with its weak self-regulation, makes it difficult for individuals to control their impulses,” notes Roberts. “A recent study highlights how smartphones, in particular, facilitate shopping addiction and lead to debt-related problems as a direct result. »
The constant stimuli of pop-up ads, scheduled discounts, and incentive purchases prey on people with behavioral addictions, reducing their ability to resist over time. This can lead to impulsive and emotional buying behavior.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday expected to tempt people as the holiday season approaches, Roberts advises those addicted to shopping to take urgent steps to minimize daily intrusions into communications and protect their mental health.
It provides the following recommendations to improve their information selection skills:(I)
- Add ad-blocked plugins and cancel email promotion subscriptions
- Remove shopping apps
- Selectively accept commercial information
- Increase offline social opportunities to find satisfaction through real-life encounters
- Reduce dependence on online shopping habits
Additionally, Roberts recommends the following steps, which have been shown to be effective in reducing compulsive and impulsive purchases and thus countering addictive urges:(ii)
- Organize online and offline interactions ensure a stable pace of life and healthy lifestyle habits
- Plan in advance for shopping “holidays”
- Participate in sporting activities outdoor events and activities
- Share emotional feelings with trusted friends and family to ensure you have emotional support and regulation
- Engage in emotional “training” to relieve stress and help manage emotions
- Practice self-reflection strengthen rational decision-making capabilities
- Wise purchases – better identify authentic information and have a careful view of product details and promotions
“Unlike physical purchases, there are no limits to online purchases: the choice is endless, there are no time restrictions and transactions are anonymous,” she explained. “This creates a perceived psychological ‘distance’ between consumers and sellers, particularly when it comes to monetary transactions. Together, the studies have shown how this creates a much more complex decision-making environment for consumers.
To help kick shopping addiction and adopt more “healthy” shopping habits, Roberts adds:
“First, the more shopaholics and their loved ones understand the situation, the better. A thorough knowledge and recognition of the triggering circumstances that lead to addictive behavior, as well as a factual recognition of its impact, can contribute significantly to creating an atmosphere of healthier consumption. It can also help in formulating appropriate management measures.
“Any addiction, including shopping, is a way of dealing with negative emotions. These can be the result of many factors, such as difficulties associated with work pressures, relationship problems or even past trauma. The instant “high” and mood “boost” that shopping creates can repress or “numb” these emotions and harm the root cause.
Pamela suggests that people who are more susceptible to addictions should make it their goal to create sustainable online shopping patterns that work with their individual personalities and improve their standard of living. They can do this by following the ABCD practice of emotional regulation (by Andrew Seubert from his book The Courage to Feel):
A: Awareness emotion – you name it.
B: Be with it and breathe. Locate the emotions in your body and send slow, deep breathing to the places where you feel them. Say “yes” to emotions and just be with them, probably tolerating the discomfort, knowing that you are safe.
C: Check the facts. Emotions are always real and valid, but you must learn to ask yourself if they are. TRUE. Now that you know What you feel and Or it’s in your body, you can look for evidence to support or refute it. For example, if you feel anxious, you might call this emotion fear. Fear is a response to the perception that you are in danger or that something or someone could harm you. Is this true?
D: Decide. There are 3 options here:
- Express.
- Act.
- Wait and calm down.
Using the information obtained from checking these facts, the person can decide what to do next. This step is often optional because the steps above are likely sufficient to regain emotional balance.
“A feeling of relief, lightness and increased positive energy often occurs after the action and/or expression,” adds Pamela. “It’s your emotional GPS that tells you that what you did was necessary and that you’re moving in the right direction to meet your needs.”
(I) From Zhao et al.
(ii) From Zhao et al.
Featured image by Gerd Altmann Since Pixabay
