Ai-driven Marketing Poses Risks For Shopping Addicts Ahead Of Black Friday And Cyber Monday

Retailers are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to personalise marketing and optimise the customer experience, but this is posing significant challenges for individuals struggling with shopping addiction, a leading Priory addiction therapist has warned ahead of Black Friday (29 November) and Cyber Monday (2 December).

And, Trinity is delighted to be working with the team at Priory to help amplify this important and thought provoking story with content placed on a range of platforms, including the Indepdendent.

By analysing browsing history and past purchases, AI serves up hyper-targeted product recommendations that are hard to resist. Additionally, AI-driven dynamic pricing and personalised discounts create a sense of urgency, making it even more tempting to buy.

These virtual triggers can exacerbate an existing shopping addiction, and Priory therapist Pamela Roberts is urging those at risk to take proactive steps to avoid the flood of marketing emails and app notifications which come with two of the year’s biggest online shopping events.

“The abundance of data allows retailers to tempt shoppers more effectively than ever before,” she says. “Consumers are bombarded with online shopping options, requiring them to invest more cognitive effort to make rational decisions. For those with a shopping addiction, this can be overwhelming and lead to impulsive purchases. I’m already seeing the impact on the people I support in my clinics.”

Shopping addiction, a form of behavioural addiction, is characterised by an uncontrollable urge to shop despite negative consequences. It often masks underlying mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and low self-esteem. Contrary to popular belief, both men and women are equally susceptible to this cycle of overspending.

“The digital shopping environment, with its low self-regulation, makes it difficult for individuals to control their urges,” Roberts notes. “A recent study highlights how smartphones, in particular, facilitate shopping addiction and lead to debt-related issues as a direct result.”

The constant stimuli from pop-up ads, timed discounts, and incentive-led purchases prey on those with behavioural addictions, reducing their ability to resist over time. This can lead to impulsive and emotional buying behaviour.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday set to tempt people ahead of the festive season, Roberts advises those with a shopping addiction to take urgent steps to minimise daily communication intrusions and protect their mental health.

She provides the following recommendations to improve their information selection capabilities:^[i]

• Add ad-blocked plug-ins and cancel email promotion subscriptions
• Delete shopping apps
• Selectively accept business information
• Increase offline social opportunities to find the satisfaction through real life encounters
• Reduce reliance on online shopping patterns

“Unlike physical shopping, there are no limits to online shopping – the choice is endless, there are no time restrictions and transactions are anonymous,” she explained. “This creates a perceived psychological ‘distance’ between consumers and sellers, especially where monetary transactions are concerned. Combined, studies have shown how this makes for a far more complex decision-making environment for consumers.”

To help move away from a shopping addiction to more ‘healthy’ buying patterns, Roberts adds: “Firstly, the more that shopping addicts and those close to them understand the condition the better. An in-depth knowledge and recognition of the trigger circumstances that lead to addictive behaviour, as well as a factual recognition of the impact, can contribute significantly to creating a healthier consumption atmosphere.”

[i] Sourced from Zhao et al.