Survey: Intoxication, social media drive online purchases
At least one major driver of consumer e-commerce behavior is largely out of retailers’ control. According to a new survey of over 1,000 regular online shoppers from personal finance membership group SoFi, a majority (53%) of respondents admit they haven’t been sober when making an online purchase.

Intoxicated shopping is common online
Men are more likely to shop while intoxicated than women, with 60% saying they’d shopped online while not sober, compared to 40% of women who said the same. When looking at age groups, millennials (60%) are most likely to shop while not sober, and boomers (37%) are the least likely to do so.
In general, the survey indicates that impulse purchases make up a good amount of total e-commerce volume. More than half (56%) of respondents said that more than half of their online purchases are impulse buys. Comparing age groups, millennials are the most impulsive online shoppers, with 63% of these respondents saying their online purchases are not planned. But of all surveyed age groups, Gen Z had the highest percentage of respondents who said none of their online purchases are impulse buys (12%). Boomers, at 10%, were a close second.
Other interesting findings include:
- Thirty-nine percent of respondents are shopping online the same amount since stores reopened, while 37% are shopping online more and 24% are shopping online less.
- Thirty-seven percent of surveyed women and 29% of surveyed men spend $100 or less online shopping while 25% of men and 17% of women spend $500 or more.
- Two-thirds of respondents (65%) place three or more orders on Amazon each month. And 16% place more than five Amazon orders every month.
- The top reasons to regret an online purchase are it looked better on-screen than in real life (26%) and spending too much money (22%).
- Close to half (48%) of respondents get online grocery deliveries at least once per week. Only 24% get online grocery deliveries less than once per month.
Intoxicated shopping – some sobering figures
Another survey of over 1,000 U.S. adults, from CouponChief, confirms the prevalence of intoxicated shopping. 70% of respondents admitted to making at least one online purchase since the start of the pandemic while drunk or stoned. Men (76%) were more likely to shop online intoxicated than women (46%). Amazon (69%) was more commonly used for online shopping while intoxicated than Walmart, eBay, and Target combined (67%).
Related news
Cybersecurity investments also concentrate on AI
🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Lejátszás Szünet Folytatás Leállítás Nyelv: Auto…
Read more >Generations X and Y would be happy to cook more
🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Lejátszás Szünet Folytatás Leállítás Nyelv: Auto…
Read more >8 of 10 Germans switch brands for cheaper prices
🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Lejátszás Szünet Folytatás Leállítás Nyelv: Auto…
Read more >Related news
OKSZ: Retail margin cap has lost its purpose – government decision due in February
🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Lejátszás Szünet Folytatás Leállítás Nyelv: Auto…
Read more >Dietitians recommend more conscious protein consumption
🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Lejátszás Szünet Folytatás Leállítás Nyelv: Auto…
Read more >New Year, Clean Start: Here’s Why You Should Eat More Organic Food
🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Lejátszás Szünet Folytatás Leállítás Nyelv: Auto…
Read more >
