Drunk shopping translates into $44.9 billion business in the U.S.
For some 58.4 million Americans, a hangover is no longer the only thing they may wake up to after a night of drinking.
According to Finder’s latest Drunk Shopping survey, Americans spent $44.9 billion on drunk purchases in the past 12 months, which is down from last year’s $45.3 billion. Nearly a quarter (22.9%) of Americans admit to shopping under the influence. Although the percentage of Americans that admitted to buying under the influence decreased from 26.4% to 22.9% over the past year, the amount consumers are spending increased by 13.9%. The average drunk shopper is spending an average of $768.58 on drunk purchases this year, compared to $674.96 in 2019.
Not surprisingly, food is the most common drunk purchase. Nearly 60% of Americans admit to purchasing food while drunk, followed by more alcohol at 51.7% and shoes, clothes or accessories at 36.9%.
The Northeast had the highest percentage of drunk shoppers (25.82%) as well as the highest average spend ($1,195.13), Midwest (23.54%), the West (23.50%) and the South (20.32%), according to the survey.
Broken down by states, the research found that Washington spent the most on drunk purchases, totaling at $2,199.96. Massachusetts and New York had the second and third highest spending at $1,703.14 and $1,652.4 respectively. The state that spent the least while drunk shopping was North Dakota with a total spend equivalent of $99.60.
In other survey highlights:
• Just over a quarter (26.9%) of men admit to drunk shopping. The top purchase for men under the influence is more alcohol (57.3%), followed by food (54.7%), and shoes, clothes, or accessories (30.3%).
• Less women (19.1%) admitted to drunk shopping than men, spending an average of $799.61 on their purchases during the past year. The top drunk purchase among women was food (62.9%), with shoes, clothes, or accessories coming in second (45.5%), and more alcohol in a close third (44.4%).
• On par with last year’s trend, millennials were the generation most prone to drunk shopping (42.1%), followed by Gen Z (35.4%), Gen X (22.2%) and baby boomers (10.1%).