Secret shame of Britain’s shopaholics

It is a truth universally acknowledged that women love to shop, but how much is too much? How do we know when we’ve tipped over the edge and are spending more than we can afford? uSwitch.com, the impartial price comparison and switching service, has surveyed women across Britain to understand their shopping and spending habits and linked with Jay Hunt, spending and style expert from BBC3’s Spendaholics, to develop a guide to responsible shopping.

The Shopaholic’s Guide to Budgeting is a free six-week plan to help women re-evaluate their shopping habits and take a more responsible approach to spending and borrowing.

Jay comments: “Shopping is the nation's favourite pastime but so many of us throw money away needlessly. The Shopaholic's Guide has been written to help remedy this and enable women to get their spending under control, while still enjoying the thrill of shopping.”

This latest research from uSwitch.com has unveiled a stark contrast between the average British woman who shops just 2.4 times per month and the shopaholic, who has to have a weekly fashion fix. There are 765,642 hard-core shopaholics in Britain. On average, these women will indulge themselves to the tune of £182.92 per month, compared to the average fashion spend of just £86.66; a total of £96.26 more per month to satisfy their need for clothing and grooming purchases. This means that the shopaholic splashes an average £47.14 per shopping trip, compared to the ‘normal shopper’ who parts with £11.04 less on average, spending just £36.10 per spree.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy, for uSwitch.com says: “Fat used to be a feminist issue, but it looks like it's been overtaken by debt. In today's celebrity obsessed society, where women emulate the lifestyles and shopping habits of their favourite fashionistas, it's not surprising that women are becoming more interested in Size Zero than 0% APR.

“Indebtedness because of shopaholicism is the result of easy accessibility to loans, credit cards, and store cards and highlights the need for consumers to take some personal responsibility for managing their own financial situation. By shopping around for the best deals, taking advantage of 0% introductory rates and switching utility providers to get the best available prices on household bills, women can follow the Shopaholic's guide to managing their finances and still enjoy the pleasure-rush of a new purchase, without racking up more unsecured debt. It is all gain and no pain.”

The Debt Danger Zone

The most troubling aspect of the shopaholic’s unquenchable thirst is revealed when exploring how she funds her must-have designer and high street purchases. Use of unsecured credit to finance fashion purchases is prolific among shopaholics with an overwhelming 72% admitting to using a mix of credit cards, store cards, overdrafts or loans to fund their shopping sprees, compared to just 51% of women nationally.

This recipe for financial disaster results in a disturbing level of unsecured debt among shopaholics, with average personal debt standing at a shocking £11,337.87. Of this, the retail addicts claim that almost three quarters (71%) of their debt is attributable to fashion and grooming purchases. This means that each shopaholic has a personal shopping debt of £8,092.97 - over £7,000 more than the average British woman. Nationally, average unsecured debt among women stands at £5,067.92 per person and just 13% of this is accrued as a result of spending on fashion purchases.

Watching with interest

When it comes to paying back purchases that have been funded by credit cards, store cards, overdrafts or loans, Britain’s women can be slow to drop the debt. Again there is a stark contrast between women who pay their cards off straight away, and those who don’t. Repayment research by uSwitch.com indicates that the hard-core spendaholics compound their use of unsecured debt by taking an average of more than 11 months to ditch their debt.

Who’s that girl?

The shopaholic earns £18,959 per year on average, slightly more than the average British woman (£17,784). She has average savings of £4,485, which is significantly lower than the average British woman, who boasts an impressive £10,525 tucked away for a rainy day. She tends to be under the age of 25, although shopaholicism is evident across all ages. Perhaps under the influence of WAGs such as Colleen McLoughlin, cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol are home to the greatest concentrations of shopaholics.

The shopaholic spends more on fashion as a proportion of her disposable income (14%); twice as much as the ‘normal shopper’, who estimates she spends just 7%. Tellingly, the trend is similar when it comes to repayment of debts, with shopaholics directing 18% of their disposable income towards meeting unsecured debt repayments, whilst the national average is only 11%.

Shopaholicism also seems to be taking its toll on trust and relationships. More than 486,122 British women admit to having sneaked fashion purchases items onto a husband or partner’s credit card and almost two in five (16%) admit they have lied about their spending habits.

Regional Retail Addicts

Across Britain’s largest cities, Birmingham’s women are the biggest fashion spenders, splashing out an average of £1,813.56 each year on fashion and grooming, which is £773.64 more than the national average of £1,039.92.

When it comes to unsecured debt accrued as a result of fashion purchases, ladies from Liverpool are leading the way, racking up the most debt from fashion purchases with a whopping £1,044.

Top shopping facts from around Britain:

Birmingham is the shopaholic capital of Britain, with the greatest concentration of hard-core addicts residing in the city. Birmingham women also spend the most overall (£1,813 per year) and are the biggest spenders on shoes (£305 per year), work clothing (£261), party clothing (£410) and accessories (£267)

Birmingham women also spend the most as a proportion of their disposable income on fashion (9.4%) and on average spend the most per shopping trip at £54.96

Bristol women are the most beauty-obsessed with shoppers spending £268 - £107 more per year on beauty products than the national average of £161

Manchester women go shopping the most often –an average of 2.9 times per month

Leeds ladies are most likely to use credit cards and store cards to fund fashion purchases, whilst Cardiff and Birmingham are most likely to use loans

Women in Liverpool take the longest to repay unsecured debt – 16 months in Liverpool compared to a national average of 11 months

Women in Newcastle had the greatest level of unsecured debt at £7,104

When it comes to unsecured debt as a result of fashion and grooming purchases however, Liverpool women are the worst offenders with £1,044 in unsecured credit
The exclusive uSwitch.com Shopaholic’s Guide to Budgeting, by BBC3 Spendaholic’s

Jay Hunt is available to download for free from uSwitch.com/Shopaholics or call free phone 0800 093 06 07 to be emailed a copy.