An Overview of Compulsive Buying Behavior (Kompulsif Satın Alma Davranışına Genel Bir Bakış)

Compulsive buying behavior is the consumption made by individuals to alleviate the tension experienced in situations such as anxiety, mood disorders, depression, and stress. In here, what is important for the individual is the feeling of pleasure in the purchasing process rather than obtaining any product or service. Although compulsive consumers experience a short-term relief with the buying process, they then face a feeling of regret. However, later they face a feeling of regret. In addition, this behavior, which causes great financial problems, causes not only economic problems but also social and family problems. In particular, there are opinions that the constantly changing life conditions, digitalization, internet use, sales and marketing strategies of companies, and credit opportunities feed this behavior. In this study, it is aimed to better understand compulsive purchasing behavior and to grasp the importance of its socio-economic dimension. For this purpose, a detailed literature review was made and the characteristics, causes, demography, prevalence and consequences of compulsive buying behavior in societies were emphasized. Compulsive buying studies does not have a very long history, and most of the work done in the field has been framed by the clinical field. This situation caused the socio-economic dimension of the studies to lag behind. In this sense, the study is expected to contribute to both academic and social fields.