Americans Have Increased Their Impulse Spending by 14% in 2022 Compared to 2021, According to Annual Survey Commissioned by Slickdeals (2024)

FAQs

What are the impulse buying statistics for 2022? ›

The average person is only spending $151 impulsively per month, which is down from previous years ($314 in 2022, $276 in 2021 and $183 in 2020). Seven in ten have saved money as a result of holding back on their impulse shopping habits, an increase from what was reported in previous studies (58% in 2022).

Highlights: Impulse Buying Statistics

Approximately 84% of Americans have indulged in impulse buying at least once. Impulse purchases account for 40% of all the money spent on e-commerce. Women (58%) are more likely to impulse buy than men (48%).

Among U.S. consumers the two most popular categories for online purchases are Clothing and Shoes. 43 percent and 33 percent of consumers respectively chose these answers in our representative online survey. The survey was conducted online among 10,046 respondents in the United States, in 2023.

Impulse Buy Price Point

You could have the best product in the world, but if it's not priced right it won't sell as an impulse item. Studies show that impulse purchases usually cost around $30. Some cost under $20, while larger purchases range into the hundreds. The $30 and under items tend to add up quickly.

Curbing Out-of-Control Impulse Spending

For instance, using the 1% rule. “It's simple: When something you want to purchase exceeds 1% of your annual gross income, wait a day before buying it.

Impulse buying is a buying situation in which the customer makes a spur-of-the-moment purchase and the decision to buy a product is made just a moment before the purchase is done without any pre-planning or process.

Fashion items. Interestingly, fashion is the top selling industry in almost all of the world. Yes, despite the industry being tricky and having products that come in sizes that may vary from store to store, fashion remains the queen of sales.

A Generational Breakdown of Overall Spending

Overall in 2021, Gen X (anyone born from 1965 to 1980) spent the most money of any U.S. generation, with an average annual expenditure of $83,357. The second biggest spenders are Millennials with an average annual expenditure of $69,061. Image: Visual Capitalist.

“At 47.8 million strong and a buying power that's on par with many countries' gross domestic products, African Americans continue to outpace spending nationally,” said Cheryl Grace, Nielsen's Senior Vice President of Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement and co-creator of the DIS Report in 2019.

Several psychological factors contribute to impulse buying, including emotions, social influence, and cognitive biases. Emotions - Emotions are powerful drivers of behavior, and marketers often use emotional appeals to trigger impulse buying.

Is impulse buying common? ›

Just about every American has made an impulse purchase, but the psychological profile of individuals who commonly make impulse purchases can be broken down into three main categories: Their desire for pleasure, lack of self-control, and need to impress others.

There are many different reasons that someone could suddenly decide to purchase something, such as their emotional state, effective advertising tactics, cultural factors, wanting the feeling of instant gratification and others on top of that.

In the United States, Gen Z buyers (age 16–25) are the most likely demographic to buy something on impulse; nearly a quarter of them exhibit this behavior. In general, the younger the customer, the more likely they are to purchase things on impulse.

Impulsive buying tends to increase between the ages 18 to 39, and then it declines thereafter (Bellenger, Robertson and Hirshman, 1978). An inverse relationship was found between age and impulsive buying. It was also found that the relationship is non monotonic.