Compulsive consumption behaviour

Consumers who are compulsive buyers have an addiction; in some respects, they are out of control and their actions may have damaging consequences to them and to those around them. Examples include uncontrollable shopping, gambling, drug addition, alcoholism and various food and eating disorders. It is distinctively different from impulsive buying which is a temporary phase and centers on a specific product at a particular moment. In contrast compulsive buying is enduring behaviour that centers on the process of buying, not the purchases themselves.