Imagine the thrill of shopping without ever getting a bill. That’s what’s happening on new websites that allow users to order everything from food to clothing without paying — because nothing gets delivered.
These shopping simulation sites offer the rush that can come from shopping without being charged. The fake websites, which originated as a joke in South Korea, are known as “dopamine sites,” named after the chemical associated with pleasure.
The act of shopping has been proven to bring a surge of happiness.
“It’s giving us so many different things beyond just the product itself,” financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin told TODAY. “We’re doing things like browsing, we’re searching. We’re getting this hit of dopamine, which is that excitement hormone, that novelty hormone.”
Bryan-Podvin says the act of pretending to shop can replicate those same feelings.
“People are looking for things to do that give them that hit of novelty and excitement and they don’t want things that are negatively impacting their wallet,” she said.
NBC News’ chief consumer investigative correspondent Vicky Nguyen tried the faux retail therapy experience out for herself by logging onto a site called FakeHaul, which offers beauty products, clothes, snacks and more.
“This is really trying to emulate the online shopping experience. It feels very real,” she said.
Nguyen searched, selected and added items to her cart. Confetti appeared on the screen after she “placed” her order. The experience felt “weirdly satisfying,” she said.
She also tried her luck on a site called FoodNeverComes, ordering chicken tikka masala and enchiladas that will be delivered “in your imagination.”
People on social media have touted the anecdotal benefits of fake shopping.
“If you need a little dopamine rush for a no spend or you’re trying to be mindful of your money, here you go. You can fake it until you make it,” one TikTok user said, describing dopamine sites.
Experts explain that part of why the sites are effective is because the dopamine release associated with shopping can hit before the purchase is completed.
“The element of looking forward brings a lot of the pleasure, and we often crash after an event or feel let down,” Ravi Dhar, director of the Yale Center for Customer Insights, told the New York Times in September.
“Dopamine sites are essentially equivalent to digital near beer,” Dr. Anna Lembke, an addiction psychiatrist at Stanford University and the author of “Dopamine Nation,” told the newspaper.
Because shopping — and fake shopping — are said to bring temporary feelings of happiness, Bryan-Podvin recommended finding mood-boosting activities with more longevity, like reading, going to the movies, spending time outside or connecting with a loved one.
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