ABSTRACT
Recent studies into shopping behaviour and associated phenomena such as the study of ‘shopaholics' (e.g. Elliott 1994) have thrust shopping (and the role of shopping) into the popular spotlight with a rush of articles appearing in the press. When one of the most widely read women's magazines in the UK asks its readers ‘Which do you think is better, shopping or sex?' (Prima reader survey, February 1997) , the time must be ripe for serious consideration of the role of shopping in our lives today. This chapter poses the question ‘Why do we really go shopping?' and examines the history of shopping and its role in women's lives. Comfort shopping, or ‘retail therapy', is explored under the broader concept of compensatory consumption and the focus then moves to a detailed discussion of shopping addiction, with examples and illustrations from our ongoing research into women's lived experience of consumption.
