Some argue that compulsive shopping should also be considered.

Compulsive shopping, like all addictions, masks underlying misery.

As debt grows, so the compulsive shopping may become a more secretive act.

Those with associated disorders such as anxiety, depression and poor impulse control are particularly likely to be attempting to treat symptoms of low self-esteem through compulsive shopping.

Without a strong sense of identity, pressures from the spread of materialist values and consumer culture over the recent decades can drive the vulnerable into compulsive shopping.