Monthly impulse spending jumps 51% year-over-year

Americans are once again buying on impulse — mostly in bed via smartphones.

Respondents spend an average of $276 every month, a 51% increase from the average $183 per month reported in April 2020, according to a survey by social shopping platform Slickdeals. The spend adds up to $3,312 annually, or $198,720 over the course of the respondent’s lifetime. 

As to what they are spending their money on, one year and counting into the pandemic, Americans are still impulsively buying the main essentials: food/groceries (48%), household items (42%), clothing (40%) and coffee (33%).

Other highlights from the Slickdeals survey are below. 
•    Two-thirds of impulse shopping takes place while in bed using smartphones. 

•    In 2020, 75% of Americans said they wouldn't go through with their purchase if they had to pay for shipping. Only 67% feel that way this year.

•    During the past year, 65% of people have had to be more vigilant about the deliveries they receive. Half (51%) have had more packages and deliveries stolen this year than ever before.

•    Nearly half (45%) said they'd be willing to spend their stimulus money on impulse purchases. When asked the same question last year, only 36% felt comfortable using their stimulus in that way. This especially applied to holiday shopping. Since last year, there's been a 10% decrease in holiday spending concerns.

"The pandemic created significant challenges for global supply chains that increased consumer demand in a variety of sectors," said Ryan Tronier, senior personal finance editor for Slickdeals. "Our past research indicated that at the start of the pandemic, consumers reported panic buying household goods such as toilet paper and cleaning supplies and our internal user data indicated that people were spending more on large purchases such as furniture, home improvement and technology. As such, it's not surprising that this survey showed an increase in the frequency and dollar amount of impulse shopping."