It has long been hailed as the ultimate way to let off steam by some members of the fairer sex.
Now, U.S. scientists have discovered that not only does retail therapy exist, but that it could be caused by an individual's fear of sudden death.
Researchers found materialistic people find terrorism and war more stressful than others - and are more likely to spend compulsively to help them cope.
Psychologists believe the rise of materialism around the world and its therapeutic effect on extreme stress might be a response to fear of death caused by acts of terrorism, disease and natural disasters.
The scientists from Michigan State University said people with possession obsessions often have lower self-esteem than others so are more likely splurge in the wake of severe psychological trauma.
Ayalla Ruvio, a business professor who studied people's shopping habits while rockets fell in Israel, said: 'When the going gets tough, the materialistic go shopping.
'And this compulsive and impulsive spending is likely to produce even greater stress and lower well-being. Essentially, materialism appears to make bad events even worse.'
Dr Ruvio led a two-part study of Israeli citizens living in a town that came under extreme rocket attacks for about six months in 2007.
She compared 139 residents of the southern town with 170 from another town that was not under attack to see how their symptoms of post-traumatic stress and shopping habits varied.
Along with researchers from the University of Haifa in Israel and the University of Illinois, Dr Ruvio analysed the psychological condition of the two groups.
The psychologists found that, when faced with a mortal threat, those who where highly materialistic suffered much higher levels of post-traumatic stress, while their tendency to buy impulsively and compulsively was increased.
Dr Ruvio said: 'The relationship between materialism and stress may be more harmful than commonly thought.'
The second stage of their research, which was published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, surveyed 855 Americans about their materialistic nature and fear of death.
They found that shopping was used to relieve feelings of stress and anxiety about death among more materialistic people, but this was in response to fear of a variety of life-threatening events like car accidents, criminal attacks and natural disasters.
女性喜欢通过购物缓解压力。据英国《每日邮报》报道，科研人员发现，购物有助于应对心理压力，缓解对死亡的恐惧，并且和物质主义思想有关联。
研究发现，面对致命威胁，那些具有极高的物质欲望的人会遭受更大程度的创伤后压力，强迫性冲动购物的倾向也增强了。
2007年，以色列一个小镇遭遇了长达6个月的火箭弹袭击。科研人员用镇上137名居民进和另一个没有遭遇袭击的小镇上170位居民进行对比，分析人们战后压力和购物习惯的变化。
项目带头人阿亚拉•鲁维奥博士说：“当形势变得糟糕时，物质主义者就会去购物。而这种强迫性冲动消费可能会产生更大压力，并降低幸福感。从本质上说，物质主义者会让本来已经糟糕的事变得更糟。”
在研究的第二阶段，该团队调查了855名美国人，分析他们的物质主义天性和对死亡恐惧。研究发现，大多数物质主义者用购物缓解压力和对死亡的恐惧。鲁维奥说：“物质主义和压力之间的关系甚至比我们想象的更加有害。”
科研人员分别来自密歇根州立大学、以色列海法大学和美国伊利诺伊大学。