Fake shopping apps boom as users chase ‘buy’ buzz

A South Korean developer has built FoodNeverComes, a delivery-style app with no real purchases or deliveries—part of a widening trend of “dopamine sites” where people can simulate shopping for the hit of clicking “buy.” While dopamine is often linked to reward

On a screen designed to feel like dinner on the way, it looks almost ordinary: scroll through restaurants, select items, edit your order, type in your address, choose a payment method, then watch a courier move along.

The problem is the name tells you everything.

FoodNeverComes has all the trappings of a food delivery app—but the food never actually comes. It’s built for people who want the sensation of ordering without the transaction, a “fake online shopping” experience that lets users simulate retail therapy without any real cost.

The concept is spreading beyond one quirky project. It belongs to a growing category of so-called “dopamine sites,” emerging from South Korea and attracting attention from Gen Z users who report a kind of reward from the act of clicking “buy,” even when nothing is delivered.

That premise taps into a basic mechanism of the brain: dopamine is generally released in anticipation of a reward, not when the reward is received. In that framework, hitting a “buy” button should feel good—even if nothing is actually attached to the purchase.

On the internet, though, that explanation doesn’t settle the argument.

FoodNeverComes is built around a simple rule: no real transactions or deliveries. Instead, it offers the buzz of purchasing something without any actual financial cost. Its creator. a South Korean developer named Malhee. described how the idea came from repetition—“one of those nights when I kept opening and closing delivery apps.”.

Malhee said in a post shared on social media that they started it as a joke. But the response surprised them. because the act of ordering—without ordering—felt “weirdly fulfilling.” In Korean. translated to English. they wrote: “I started it as a joke at first. but surprisingly. just satisfying that urge to ‘order something’ made it weirdly fulfilling without actually ordering.”.

They also framed it as a break from habit. “Everyone’s like that these days, right?. Not because you’re hungry, but out of habit, boredom, your hand just opens the delivery app first. This app’s made to break that pattern, just once,” Malhee wrote. “Anyone who wants to quit delivery apps but can’t. who’s on a diet but keeps reaching for the app. or just wants to check out a quirky app—you’re all welcome.”.

Since the app and other dopamine sites went viral over the weekend, the reception has split sharply.

Among critics, the tone is less playful. Users on apps like X didn’t just question the usefulness—they questioned the meaning. One viral response reads: “The world is such a depressing place. man.” Another joked that simulating online retail is like “window shopping for people who can’t touch grass.”.

The criticism isn’t only philosophical. It’s practical. too: even if no money is spent. the experience can still be frustrating for people who actually want relief from the urge. In a subreddit focused on shopping addiction, users debated whether these apps help—or make things worse. Some argued they could act like a bridge away from real online stores.

One user compared the app to nonalcoholic beer for recovering alcoholics: “Scratches the itch, especially in the beginning,” they wrote. “You end up moving on from it, but it can be a really helpful stepping stone.”

But others weren’t convinced. “This would not work for me,” one user wrote. “It would just piss me off knowing nothing is actually coming.”

A third user pushed the metaphor further, calling it “playing pretend for adults,” and adding, “We’re basically experiencing play shopping like a child again.”

Still, not everyone agreed that pretend was wasted time. Another commenter said. “There are a lot more important things we can be doing with our time and attention. ” and then returned to the trade-off: “But if playing pretend keeps you from spending your money and cluttering your house up. maybe the time invested is worth it.”.

Taken together, the debate reads like a tug-of-war between two instincts. Dopamine sites are built to satisfy anticipation—the “buzz” of getting close to a reward—while skipping the real-world outcome. That means they can feel like a release, or like a tease, depending on the person.

For now, FoodNeverComes sits at the center of a larger question: if the internet has learned to monetize impulse, what happens when someone turns the impulse itself into the product—and removes the bill?

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