1.

0 TERM OF REFERENCE

On 21st

September 2013, we, Nor Hafiz, Abdul Rahman, Muhammad Shafiq and

Kaswandee were instructed by Madam Ainul Rusmin Bte Ghazali the lecturer of BEL422, to
investigate the compulsive shopping habit in Uitm Shah alam. We were asked to hand in our full
report findings and recommendations on 30th November 2013. Overall, this task took up
approximately two months to be carried out.

2.0 INTRODUCTION
2.1 Background of the Study
Shopping is a well-known habit or hobby among all people around the world. Some
people would go shopping for clothes, accessories and so on. However, some of us might not
be able to control our desire to shop everything that looks nice or beautiful which leads to
shopaholism. Shopaholism is a technical term for the compulsive desire to shop. It is also
known as oniomania, which is derived from the Greek word. (Varun,& et. al.,2009).
Shopaholism, is also referred as compulsive shopping, shopping addiction or compulsive
buying is characterized by an uncontrollable desire to make purchases when there is really no
need for the same (Healthizen, 2012). This is supported by Bernard (2009) who stated that,
shopaholism is considered as a serious disease. This habit would affect them in terms of their
relationship, jobs, homes and other prized possessions. These would rank up huge debts that
usually come from unaffordable high interest credit cards. Some of the consequences will lead
to massive financial, marital, legal and family problem.
In this study, we have chosen the students and staffs of UiTM Shah Alam to be the
subject of our research. They are ranging from 18 years old to 40 years old who are studying or
working in Uitm Shah Alam. They tend to use cash and credit cards when they go for shopping.
In addition, their expenses are differed from each other based on their economic status.
Shopping has become a hobby or habits among the students and staffs of UiTM Shah
Alam. They often go for shopping during weekends and when they get their salaries. However,
they tend to spend excessively on attractive things that they do not need due to promotion and
accessibility to use credit cards. According to Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations
(FOMCA), about 5 million go to the 300-odd shopping complexes in the country every
weekend. In this context, there are a lot of students and staffs of UiTM Shah Alam go for
shopping during weekends at various shopping complex in this country especially those situated
in Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam. There are several factors which contribute to this habit such
as grand sale and promotion, spending their leisure time and so on.

2.2 Statement of the Problem

The percentage of the population suffering from the shopping addiction is reaching
epidemic proportions in Malaysia. The lives of some people are focused on shopping. They
repeatedly make purchases regardless of need or cost. There are various signs of compulsive
buyer conditions. In this study, the students and staff of UiTM Shah Alalm are often facing
financial problems or poor financial management due to shopaholism. In this particular report,
we would focus on the factors that lead to shopaholism and its effect to the students and staffs.

2.3 Purpose of the Study

This study aims to investigate the shopping habit of shopaholics among the students and
staff in UiTM Shah Alam. The purposes are to identify the factors of shopaholism and the effects
of excessive shopping habits towards their life.

2.4 Objectives of the Study

2.3.1 to determine the sign of shopping addiction.
2.3.2 to discover the factors that cause shopping addiction.
2.3.3 to find the differences of shopping habit among students and staff that is married or
single according to their financial status.
2.3.4 to find the differences in shopping habits among the staff and the students in UiTM
Shah Alam.
2.3.5 to investigate the effects of shopaholism.

2.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study focused on the excessive shopping habit among UiTM staff and students in
Shah Alam. This research studied on signs, effects, factors and group of people involved in
overspending their money on shopping.

Shopaholism usually occurs among the urban

residents since they have better accessibility to the nearest shopping complexes. Therefore.
Shah Alam was chosen for this research because it is one of the well-developed areas in
Malaysia. The target groups were the people at the age of 18-40 years old because they still
loves to go to shopping malls at this range of age.
However, there were several limitations to this study. Firstly, the citizens under the age of
18 were neglected since they are not being investigated in this research and it is hard to find the
adequate number of respondent to prove the validity of this research. Time barrier of only 14
weeks was the main limitations for further and thorough investigation to be done.

2.6 Research Methodology

This section will highlight on the respondents of the study, instrumentation, the
procedure of data collection and finally the data analysis method.

2.6.1 Respondents of the Study

We have selected the students and staff in UiTM Shah Alam as our respondents. This is
because they are the closest respondents and easy to get the information needed. 30 random
respondents have been selected as the subjects of this research.

2.6.2 Instrumentation
To collect information and data for this research, we used primary and secondary
research where we need to find further information via internet. We find journals, online articles,
encyclopedias, newspapers, and online magazines which are related to the topic of study
through internet. Apart from that, questionnaires were distributed and interviews were conducted
in order to get the information needed from the respondents.

3.0 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Profile of the respondents
Of 30 respondents, 60% of them were students and the rest were staffs. 40% of the total
respondents were aged between 21-24 years old and 26.67% were aged between 18-20
years old and the rest were above 25 years old. Half of the respondents were from the
faculty of mechanical engineering while the other half consisted of students from faculties
such as civil, electrical, chemical and other faculty. Based on the survey that we have done,
below are the information that we have gathered.

3.2 Signs and Symptoms of Shopaholism

There are many symptoms to show that a person is in shopaholism dilemma. Table
below show some of the signs and symptoms of shopaholism and their explanation:
Signs and Symptoms of
Shopaholism

1. Purchase things that usually

do not needed.

2. Purchases followed by
feelings of remorse

3. Always
income.

have

insufficient

Explanation
According to R. Morad (2012), a shopaholic
often purchase things that usually does not
needed or does not planned to buy.
Shopaholics easily distracted from things-to-buy
list when they see attractive clothes or
accessories which are not the needs of that time
and not included in their budget plan.
R. Morad (2012) also said that, a strong feeling of
being sorry that does not limited toward the big
purchases done, also felt by the shopaholics. But
they still attracted towards deals and bargain
hunting.
Promotions and grand sales usually attract their
attentions to buy things since they found those
things are sold at much cheaper price.
Bayers (eHow.com, 2013) stated that people who
tend to be a shopaholic tend to have insufficient
income forever due to overdraft. Even the saving
in the bank also not enough to cover up the
expenses, but they still write checks. They know
they cannot afford to buy things, but they still buy
the things anyway.
They are very poor in financial management
since they tend to overspend their money on
5

unnecessary things.

4. Spending more when you

are emotional.

Shopaholics' addiction usually occurs when we

do purchases to overcome upset or feeling down,
so that we feel better after shopping. Instead of
go for an exercise, that is more healthy, we go for
shopping. (S. Czarnecki, 2008).
Some found that shopping is the best wat to
release their stress and a way to make them
happy.

5. Feel anxious on the days

you don't shop.

Shopaholics always saying that they feel "out of

sorts" if they haven't had their shopping fix, and
even have admitted to shopping online. They feel
on the edge due to haven't swiped their debit
card all day. (R. Morad, 2012).
They will find their day was incomplete when they
do not go for shopping.

3.2 Factors that contribute to the problem of shopaholism

Factors that contribute to shopaholism

Stress and Anxiety

Over-indulgence, Deprivation and Spoiled

25%
40%

Peer Influence

15%
Mass Media Influence

20%

Figure 1 : Factors that contribute to the problem of shopaholism

From the pie chart, there are 40% of shopaholics who overspend their money due to
mass media influence. This shows that mass media played an important role in advertising the
products which may influence the consumers to buy them. Apart from that, the desire to be
pretty and healthy makes them to try cosmetic products, clothes and various types of medicines
as being portrayed in the advertisements by mass media. Apart from that, the second highest
factor which contributes to shopaholism is stress and anxiety where 25% of students and staffs
in UiTM Shah Alam have voted for it as the factor. Most of them find that they will feel relax and
happy when they go shopping to escape from their work stress and busy schedule. So, they will
spend their cash and credit cards over unnecessary things that attract them just to fulfill their
desire. Next, the shopaholics also tend to overspend their money due to peer influence. Peers
play a major role in making decision whether to buy those things or not. So, most of the time,
they will buy the products because of the recommendations of their friends or they just want to
have what their friends have own. Lastly, shopaholism happens because of self-indulgence,
deprivation and spoiled. Nowadays, most of the students or staffs tend to shop excessively as a
treat of their hard works or success. They might think they deserve to treat themselves by
buying whatever they want to have. Parents nowadays also tend to replace their presence with

money so that their children can go shopping with their friends and have a good time together
because they are too busy of working.

The difference of shopping habit among students and staff that is married or single due to their income per month
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%Married
Percentage (%)
40%
30%
20%
10%
10%
0%
0%500

87%
66%

40%

1500

90%
80%

71%

Single

3000

5000 and above

Income Per Month (RM)

3.3 The difference of shopping habit among students and staff

that is married or single due to their income per month
Figure 2 : Difference of shopping habit among students and staff by referring to
their status and their economic status
Based on the bar chart above, it is obvious that single people who earn RM5000 and
above tend to be shopaholism than the married couples. It is because they have more time to
shop and they have less responsibility towards their family where they do not have to take into
account childrens school fees, childrens health and so on. Besides, we can see that most of
the shopaholics are single regardless of their income per month. Single people tend to spend
their money to buy what they want because they still do not have their own family and children.
For married couples, they are not able to shop compulsively because they have more
responsibility towards their children. High living cost nowadays especially for health,
accommodations, transportations and so on are the main hindrance for the married couples to
shop excessively. As we can see, there are none married couples who earn RM500 per month
because it is impossible for them to provide their family with a better accommodation due to
high living cost nowadays especially those who stay in urban areas such as in Shah Alam and

Kuala Lumpur. In addition, the graph showed that the higher the economic status, the higher the
percentage of shopaholics among the students and staffs of UiTM Shah Alam.

3.4 Shopping habits among the staff and the sudents in UiTM
Shah Alam

Shopping habits among the staff and the sudents in UiTM Shah Alam
35%
Staff

Students

65%

Figure 3 shopaholics among the staff and the sudents in

UiTM Shah Alam

The above pie chart showed the difference in percentage of shopaholics among the students
and the staffs of UiTM Shah Alalm. The percentage of staffs who are shopaholics is 65% which
is higher than the students. The reason is obviously they have their own income and they can
9

satisfy themselves by buying things. Apart from that the employed people have their own budget
plan per month which enable them to shop. They also do not have to pay tuition fee or college
fee anymore which is slightly high in our country. The staffs also have an easy access to apply
for credit cards which enable them to shop even though they have not received their salaries. In
contrast, students have to wisely control their shopping habits because they are dependent to
their parents for their daily spending. Besides, they also have to think of their tuition fees,
college fees, foods, transportations, rental fees and so on that might be a burden to their family.
So the students have to decrease their shopping activities according to their parents financial
status. Even though some of the students may ave PTPTN or scholarship, it is only enough for
their educational fees. So, in this case, they have to plan their budget wisely and only spend
their money to what they need the most.

10

Effects Of Shopaholism In UiTM Shah Alam

20%
Financial Emotional Relational
20%

60%

3.5 Shopping habits among the staff

and the sudents in UiTM Shah Alam
Figure 4 : Effects Of Shopaholism In
UiTM Shah Alam
There are various effects of uncontrolled shopping habits to the individuals involved in
this study. First of all, the most common effect is financial problems. Most of the shopaholics find
that they do not earn enough for their better livings because they tend to spend their money on
unnecessary things which are not needed in their daily lives. Next, they also encounter
emotional problems such as depression and sad because they have to find the other way to pay
the bills, debts and so on. This will lead them to stress and depression. Most of the time they will
feel happy and satisfy after shopping, but that feelings would not last long because afterwards
they will find that they do not have sufficient money to pay their bills. Last but not least, about
20% of the respondents experienced problem in social relationship such as in their marriage or
their friends. Money problems and high living costs will cause arguments among the married
couples if their spouses tend to overspend their income on shopping. Apart from that, for the
students, this shopaholism will bring them apart from their friends because they will ask their
friends to lend them some money to go shopping.

11

4.0 CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that:
1. Some symptoms of shopaholism are purchase according to desire and having bad habits
towards shopping and they feel that their day is incomplete without shopping.
2. The main factor that contributes to shopaholism is due to mass media which advertise the
advertisements exaggeratedly to attract the consumers to buy their product.
3. The effects of shopaholism towards an individual are financial problem due to excess use
of credit card to make purchases, impairment in relationships and emotional effects.
4. Spendthrift card users have a greater tendency of having debt due to shopaholism
compare to tightwad people.
5. Both UiTM staff and students in Shah Alam are almost equally involved in shopaholism
dilemma.
6. Unmarried women at the age of 25 to 40 years old are mostly involved in shopaholism.

12

5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that:
1

We need plan our expenses wisely to avoid overspending and prevent us from getting in
serious debt problems.

Instead of going for a shopping or online shopping, go for exercises or having a cup of
refreshment with friends and family are good ways to overcome stress or anxiety.

We should not practice of using fully credit card to purchase things but we need to carry
only sufficient amount of cash so that we will not overspending.

Awareness campaign towards the importance of financial management and the bad effect
of using credit card should be carried out so that people aware of bad effects of
shopaholism.

Suitable social activities or clubs should be organized for those who are single and also
for those of the age of 25 to 45 years old so that they could spend their leisure time
meaningfully without shopping too much.

The government needs to take action such as set up program to overcome shopping
addiction the same way they dealt with drug addiction.

13

BIBLIOGRAPHY

14

APPENDICES
Questionnaire:

The culture of Shopaholism Among UiTM Shah Alam Students

and Staff
Dear respondent,
We are undergraduate students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, we are conducting a
research on shopaholism among UiTM students and staff in Shah Alam. Kindly complete the
questionnaire as honestly as possible. All information will be kept confidential. Your cooperation
is highly appreciated. Thank you for your cooperation.
Group members:
1. Mohd Kaswandee Razali
2. Nor Hafiz Bin A. Rahman
3. Muhammad Shafiq Bin Saufi
4. Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Ghafar

15

SECTION A: PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Please tick () your answers in the relevant boxes.
1) Gender:
Male

Female

Married

Single

2) Status :
3) Age :
18 20
21 24
25 and above
4) What is your monthly income?(Include of study loans/scholarship or allowance from
family members or guardian) If married, what is your spouse income?
RM500
RM1500
RM3000
RM5000 and above
5) How many times do you shop in a month?
1-5 times

6-10 times

11 and above

6) On a monthly average how much do you spend on shopping?(For grocery or clothing and
etc)
RM500

RM1000

RM2000 and above

7) Do you throw away unfinished or spoiled produce (vegetables, fruits) bacause you buy
more than necessary?
Yes
No
8) If you answer yes on qeustion 7, how often?
Once in a month
Twice in a month
9) Do you think
are a shopaholic?
Everyyou
week
Yes

No

SECTION B: REASONS FOR SPENDING ON NECESSITY

Please tick () your answers in the relevant boxes.
1) You spend more on shopping when you are emotional.
Yes
No
2) I like to buy new things on the market.
Yes

No
16

3) Do you purchase things followed by feeling of regret?

Yes
No
4) Do you feel anxious on the days you do not shop?
Yes
No
5) When you see someone else having something that you do not, you feel like you must
have it.
Yes
No
6) Do you tend to purchase things that are not usually needed?
7) Do you shop
...............?
Yes when you No
are bored, stressed and anxious
have a credit card
are invited by parents to go shopping
are invited by a friends
see something new in the market on mass media

17

SECTION C: EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR

1) Do you always have insufficient income?
Yes
No
3) Were you ever in debt due to your shopping behaviour?
Yes
No
4) Do you have your cupboard overflowing with never worn clothing and still having the
price tag?
Yes
No
5) Is your income insufficient for providing your cost of living?
Yes
No
6) If your answer on question Yes, how often is it insufficient?
Every month of the year
Every 2-3 month of the year
Every 4-5 month of the year
Every 6 month and above of the year
For the following questions, tick () your answer in the relevant box. You are allowed to tick
only one box for each question.
1 Strongly agree 2 Agree 3 Disagree 4 Strongly disagree
No.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Statement
I become more distance from my friend day by day due to my

shopping habit.
I tend to shop when I feel angry or depressed.
My happiness after shopping is usually short-lived
I shop even when I cannot afford to.
I find out it is difficult to hold down a stable relationship with my
loved ones in my life due to my excessive shopping behaviour.
I always overuse the credit card.
I am involved in criminal activity because dont have sufficient

income.
SECTION D: RECOMMENDATION
Please answer the following questions in the spaces provided.
1) Have you tried to get help to treat your excessive shopping behaviour? If have not, do you
want help for your excessive shopping behaviour?
___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
2) What actions have been taken by you to control shopping desire?
18

___________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
Your cooperation is really appreciated. Thank you.

19

Interview Sesssion:

Madam Sharifah Nurul Baiti binti Syed Idris

Counselor of The Faculty Of Civil Engineering
Ijazah Sarjana Kaunseling Dengan Kepujian Dari Unimas.

1. Do UiTM students often ask for counseling or advices on their shopping addiction?
No. Based on my experience, generally, UiTM students came to counseling to seek advices on
financial management more often than their shopping addiction. But somehow, shopping
addiction is 1 of the factor that contribute to their financial problem.
2. What are the most popular shopping complexes among UiTM Shah Alam students and staff?
SACC mall,Plaza Alam Sentral, Kompleks PKNS, Aeon Bukit Raja & Bukit Tinggi, Plaza
Massalam, Setia City Mall and popular hypermarkets (giant, Tesco, Mydin).
3. In your opinion, why do shopping addicts keep spending even in the face of harmful financial,
emotional and social consequences?
Shopping addiction also related to Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD) characterized by
excessive shopping cognitions and buying behavior that leads to distress or impairment.
Persons with CBD are preoccupied with shopping and spending, and devote significant time to
these behaviors. It means they will keep spending eventhough it will give negative impact on
their financial, emotional or social life. Studies also found that shopping and spending often
relieved their stress, depression or anxiety and making them feel better, even temporarily.

20

4. What causes people to over-shop?

- Seeking approval from others
- Low self-esteem.
- Has emotional problems: depressions, anxiety, stress
- Has difficulty controlling impulses (shopping/spending)
- Materialistic
5. Some people said that when they depressed, shopping make they feel better. What are your
comments about this?
Studies found that shopping addict often suffer from anxiety and depression. Shopping is often
used as a way of lifting the spirits, even temporarily.
6. Does shopping behavior affect people's relationships in their life in a negative manner?
I believe an excessive shopping behavior would have negative impact on the person's
relationships with others.
- relationship with family : impact from poor management of finance leads to conflict with
spouses, parents etc. shopaholic also attempts to 'buy' love from others with materials rather
than genuine act/generosity.
- relationship with others/community : shopaholic often envy on others social status. They will
strive to achieve higher social status in order to gain approval from others.
7. Approximately 10 percent of adults in Western countries are believed to have compulsive
spending disorder that leads them to lose control over their buying behavior, and the trend in on
the rise. Does the same trend happen in Shah Alam?
There is no specific research conducted in Shah Alam.
8. How do shopaholics behave, and does the addiction affect men and women differently?
Studies in U.S., females are 9 times more likely to be affected than males.
They are generally, unable to resist items on sale, prefer to shop alone. Males prefer to shop for
gadgets, technical items, CDs and hardware. While women prefer to shop for clothes, jewelry
and household items.

9. Is there a certain type of person who is inclined to become shopaholic?

21

Generally no certain type of personality. Generally, shopaholics are materialistic person with
difficulty of controlling impulses. They are also have low self-esteem as they always seek
approval from others, and they always trying to improve self-esteem, particularly when the
desired object is associated with the image the shopper wants to be.
10. Based on our questionnaire, it is obvious that single people who earn RM5000 and above
tend to be shopaholism than the married couples. Why?
- No financial commitment with others
- Most of studies shows that Shopaholic prefer to shop alone and starting in late teens & early
20's rather than early 30's. So, we can assume that these single people falls into these
categories.

11. What are your suggestions to them in controlling their shopping habit?
- Ask for professionals help (Counselors, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Doctors).
- Learn effective financial management from experts.
- Shopping only with friends/families who do not cumpulsively shoppers.
- Find alternative ways for enjoying leisure time to break the addiction.

22

Service Plan Brochures

Figure 4: Setia City Mall

Figure 6: Anggerik Mall

23

Draft

24