Does shopping make us feel lonely?

Many of us know the comfort of turning to a little retail therapy when we feel down or lonely.

But while treating ourselves to something nice may improve our mood briefly, new research from the University of Chicago suggests that shopping as a cure for loneliness is futile - and could in fact make us feel more lonely. 

In fact, the very act of fending off loneliness by shopping can create a vicious cycle where one shops because they are lonely, feels more lonely because they have shopped, and continues shopping in a misguided attempt to cure the loneliness.

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, analysed data from 2,500 consumers over six years and found that while loneliness does indeed contribute to materialism, the two have a bidirectional relationship.

Read more here.