When Loneliness Becomes a Consumer Welfare Risk: Symptom‐Level and Neurocognitive Evidence From Compulsive Buying

ABSTRACT Loneliness may become a consumer welfare risk when compensatory buying becomes poorly regulated. Study 1 analyzed survey data from 2433 university consumers. After adjustment for age and gender, impulsive buying tendency statistically accounted for the association between loneliness and compulsive buying (indirect effect = 0.140, 95% CI [0.113, 0.168]), but not the association with life satisfaction; the compulsive‐buying association was stronger among women. Item‐level analyses highlighted spontaneous, action‐oriented, and reckless buying. Study 2 analyzed resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 89 participants. Among men, the default mode network was the only network nominally associated with both loneliness and compulsive buying. A targeted post hoc model yielded a statistically significant indirect effect through default mode network activity (0.223, 95% CI [0.017, 0.534]), although component correlations did not survive full‐family correction. Thus, the neural pathway remains exploratory. Together, the findings identify a buying‐dysregulation pathway and a complementary exploratory neurocognitive pathway.