The Shopper Stopper - an evaluation

93% of people with mental health problems spend more when they’re unwell. Symptoms of mental health problems, like increased impulsivity, memory problems and difficulties planning ahead can make resisting the temptation to shop tricky.

Drawing on behavioural economics and our understanding of mental health problems, we wanted to explore whether a timely online block could reduce financial harm associated with compulsive spending. Together with our technology partners, Plexus, Money and Mental Health designed and built the Shopper Stopper – an online tool which provided people with the ability to close online shops at times of their choosing.

Following the publication of the evaluation report, we wrote to the Chief Executives of 32 leading financial services and retail firms to call on them to implement new spending controls.