“Shopping is considered a traditional custom in our society, so what's the big deal if I go shopping for the latest clothes and accessories? Even if I am very busy, I can always find enough time for a shopping spree,” says Zeina Hamouda, a mother of four children. Hamouda believes if a husband is loaded with money, he may look at other women if he sees his wife crossing the line and spending extravagantly. But this doesn't apply to her husband, because she trusts him and knows that he would never look at another woman, even if she shops compulsively at times. Ali Shaheen, a 27-year-old expatriate says his wife adores shopping and buys a lot of unnecessary things from malls, which makes it difficult for him to save money. “She always needs money for shopping as soon as I get my monthly salary,” he says. Majedah Al-Amro, a 32- year-old housewife says, “Although my husband is a middle level employee, he has to provide for my needs because it is one of my rights as a wife. I can't disclaim this in any circumstances. It doesn't mean that I won't take into consideration my husband's salary and his means, I wait till he gives me money to go shopping.” Marketing statistics for Saudi Arabia at the website moheet.com say that around 33 percent of women go shopping at least five times a month, 30.28 percent women prefer to go shopping two to three times a month and 36.03 percent women don't want to go shopping except once a month. Studies indicate that increasing numbers of women are going on more frequent shopping sprees because of the boom in new malls and shopping centers, which are heavily advertised in the media. Advertisements on TV, radio, the print media and the Internet all try to get the attention of women, who are the ones responsible for taking decisions in the family on clothes and furniture. “Most advertisements target women and children between the ages of 4 and 45, who are more emotional and easily manipulated into buying things that they don't really need,” said Dr. Mohammad Al-Hamid, consultant psychiatrist at the Dr. Mohammad Center for Psychology and Behavioral Treatment in Jeddah. “Sometimes women may start shopping to cope with an unhappy marriage, where the constant disagreement between spouses makes a woman feel unloved and she takes shopping as a means to satisfy herself and fulfill her emotional needs,” added Dr. Al-Hamid. “Shopping can generate a positive feeling in both men and women, who may consider it a means of amusement and entertainment, in order to eliminate depression and anxiety. This positive buzz that people experience while shopping makes the experience addictive and they feel a compulsion to go shopping every time they feel depressed or sad,” says Dr. Al-Hamid. The competition between women to buy something that others in their social circle don't have, or which is better than others develops a shopping mania in them unconsciously. Dr. Al-Hamid's advice to compulsive shoppers is that they should not go shopping except to buy what is really necessary and should know exactly what they want. Dr. Dania Kabli, a consultant psychologist and director at Ligaments and Care Home in Makkah region, says, “Going to malls for shopping and meeting friends has a positive effect on many women and they feel satisfied even if they just to look at things or meet their friends. Female physiology and hormones may play an important role in making shopping desirable to women, as women feel more powerful and confident when they look their best. “About 70 percent of the print and visual media direct advertisements toward women, and the way the products are advertised creates a high motivation to go shopping in women more than men, who are not the target of such advertisements,” added Dr. Kabli. Mona Al-Sayyed, a student at King Abdul Aziz University believes that the shopping mania in many women is a negative phenomenon, which is not the solution to personal satisfaction and could create marital problems. Developing one's personality and improving one's marital relationship to feel good is better than wasting money pointlessly, she feels.
