The most popular retailer for late-night online shopping is…
More than half of consumers make unplanned post-midnight purchases from one specific online retailer.
Fifty-six percent of U.S. consumers recently surveyed by CouponFollow say they have impulsively bought items on Amazon during the late-night hours. This makes Amazon the unquestioned leader in late-night e-commerce, with brand websites (9%), discount sites such as Shein or Temu (5%), TikTok Shop (3%) and Facebook or Instagram (2%) all distantly following.
Nearly two-in-five (39%) respondents make impulsive purchases when shopping online late at night, and 13% admit they have woken to a confirmation email for something they had no memory of ordering. One-in-10 male respondents say alcohol has prompted a late-night online purchase, double the rate of female respondents (5%).
[READ MORE: Survey: U.S. consumers spent $14 billion shopping while drunk]
In total, 75% of respondents have made at least one unplanned late-night online purchase. The top reasons respondents cited for buying products online late at night (more than one answer accepted) were:
- Remembering something they needed (41%).
- Couldn’t sleep or was awake anyway (24%).
- Finally had free time to shop (24%).
- Boredom (22%).
- Scrolling social media or apps (21%).
- Late-night sale or limited-time deal (19%).
The most popular product categories purchased late at night are (more than one answer accepted):
- Clothing, shoes or accessories (33%).
- Beauty or personal care (25%).
- Electronics or gadgets (23%).
- Books, games or media (23%).
- Health, wellness or supplements (22%).
- Groceries (18%).
Two-in-five respondents have taken at least one step to curb their late-night shopping, most often by:
- Setting a spending limit or budget (24%).
- Turning off shopping notifications or promo emails (14%).
- Deleting or hiding shopping apps (10%).
- Removing saved payment info to add friction (10%).
- Asking a partner or friend to hold them accountable (5%).
Looking at demographic differences in late-night shopping habits, the survey reveals Gen Z late-night shoppers overspend an estimated $541 a year, more than four times what baby boomers do ($133). Millennials ($373) and Gen X ($243) fall in the middle.
Gen Z respondents most often buy clothing or accessories (42%), books, games, or media (32%), and food delivery or takeout (29%, vs. 2% of baby boomers). Male respondents’ late-night carts skew to electronics (32%) and books or games (27%), while female respondents’ carts skew to clothing (39%) and beauty (38%).
Other findings
- Nearly half of respondents (47%) have spent more than they planned to during late-night shopping sessions and 15% do so often or almost always.
- Respondents who overspend often are more than three times as likely to have woken to an order they don't remember (34% vs. 10%).
- Seven-in-10 (71%) respondents say an emotion drives their purchases, most often a treat-yourself mood or fear of missing out from a sale.
- Four-in-five (80%) respondents use a coupon or promo code at least sometimes, and women are far more likely than men to use them always or often (46% vs. 26%).
In June 2026, CouponFollow surveyed 1,010 U.S. consumers.
