Boredom main reason for retail therapy boom

BRITONS are collectively spending £2.8 billion (€4.2bn) a month on retail therapy, according to research published yesterday.

Just more than two-thirds of people admit to indulging in retail therapy, getting through an average of £90 (€135) a month each, according to Sainsbury’s Bank.

About one in five people also said the amount they spent when they hit the shops had increased by around a third during the past 12 months.

The main reason people gave for increasing their expenditure was boredom, cited by 19%, while 10% blamed stress at work and 9% even said they spent money to take their mind off their financial problems.

Women were also likely to head to the shops if they were suffering relationship problems, with 5% saying they had spent more on retail therapy as their love life was in trouble, compared with just 2% of men.

Unsurprisingly, women spend the most on shopping, getting through an average of £95 (€143) a month each, compared with men’s £85 (€128).

Sainsbury’s Bank credit manager Lucy Hunter said: “research shows that retail therapy is on the increase, but people need to make sure they don’t spend more than they can afford.”

TNS questioned 1,006 people between June 11 and 13.