Buy Now Debt Later

The world of online shopping means you can spend big anywhere at any time. Jess Denham looks at shopping addiction and how buy now, pay later services aren’t helping.

- Jess Denham

Filling up her online shopping cart with dresses, jeans and heels after another stressful day in the office, Holly Draper felt her anxieties instantly melt away.

“The rush was huge,” admits Holly, 28, a communications executive. “Nothing could match that feeling of spending money on something with just the click of a button. But minutes after dropping $4000 in a single spree, the shame hit me. I’d secretly racked up $42,575 worth of debt from online shopping, but I couldn’t stop.”

Holly’s spending began in 2013 after landing her dream job in PR. Despite earning $58,000 a year, the long hours and pressure left her exhausted and anxious, so she turned to shopping to make herself feel better.

“I’d spend hours browsing sites and apps,” Holly says.

“Dozens of targeted ads would pop up within seconds of clothes and jewellery that I didn’t need. Afterwards, I’d feel sick with guilt.”

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Shopping addiction − described by UK mental healthcare group Priory as “a serious and destructive psychological condition” − is now thought to affect millions of people globally, most of whom are women in their late teens or early 20s.

Recently, concerns have been raised over internet shopping sites, targeted ads and buy now, pay later options − which are all fuelling a rise in compulsive buying. A report by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute suggested that 24-hour online shopping meant “consumers who struggle to control their spending find themselves at greater risk than ever before.”