Whether you’re jealous of your partners’ friends or a co-worker’s confidence, there’s nothing like a little retail therapy to perk you up. Emotions like happiness have long been harnessed to encourage people to spend, but new research suggests that jealousy can be similarly effective.

As Roald Dahl’s The Twits taught us, marriage can be hard, and spouses sometimes resort to subtle trickery to get back at each other. One such trick used by frustrated partners is ‘oppositional brand choice’ – buying Ben and Jerry’s when you know full well your husband prefers Häagen-Dazs.

Widespread crime and governmental bumblings – like the escape of cartel kingpin Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán from prison – have brought outcry and fury in Mexico. But in a stroke of good luck for retailers, it seems that citizens are turning to retail therapy as a way to forget their woes.

From toothbrushes to paper clips, Harvey Nichols’ special Christmas collection encourages people to buy “a little something” for their loved ones – so they can buy “a bigger something” for themselves. It taps into a growing trend: self-gifting.