(Nature) – From China to Brazil to Germany, huge numbers of people are addicted to shopping, driven in part by companies that use gaming strategies.

German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin described krankhafte Kauflust — the pathological desire to buy — as early as 1899. But many specialists worry that the problem is getting much worse now — in part because of the rise of e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Chinese fast-fashion firm Shein and online marketplace Temu, some of which use game-like strategies to sell items. Last year, the European Commission announced it was investigating several aspects of Temu’s business, including “the risks linked to the addictive design of the service”. (Read More)