KEY POINTS:
Credit crunch or not, many women spend their days thinking about shopping, at least if you believe the results of a recent poll by cosmopolitan.co.uk.
The website's survey of 778 women aged between 19 and 45 found that seventy-four per cent of respondents thought about shopping once a minute.
That's about the same amount as other surveys have found men think about sex.
Two out of five respondents to the survey described themselves as shoe or handbag "addicts" and more than a quarter thought nothing of spending over £200 (NZ$520) on a coveted item, according to Britain's Daily Mail.
The survey also revealed the more worrying information that almost half the respondents hid their purchases from their partners; with 62 per cent willing to put their buys on a credit card and 8 per cent digging into funds meant for rent or mortgage payments.
Kate Creasy, the editor of cosmpolitan.co.uk told the Daily Mail that a lot of women valued the thrill of buying a new item more than the item itself.
"No sooner have they bagged the 'it item' of the season than they're chasing the next shopping rush," she said.
The survey appeared to back up Creasy's comment, with one in ten respondents saying said they tired of a new purchase after just two weeks.
Dr Jane Prince, a psychologist at the University of Glamorgan, told the Daily Mail people usually thought about things which brought them pleasure but the fact so many women displayed such a preoccupation with shopping indicated widespread addictive behaviour.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
