Drunk shopping report

Canadians have a drunk shopping problem. They’ve spent an estimated $2.15 billion dollars shopping under the influence (SUI), according to survey data from Finder.com.

The amount Canadians are spending while on the sauce might have something to do with the sheer volume of Canadians who are shopping while under the influence. According to data, almost one in three Canadians (31%) admitted to shopping while drunk at some stage in their life.

Men spend more while drunk than women

Let’s break it down starting with the battle of the sexes. Canadian men have spent far more than women while drinking, with men spending a total average of $256 in their lifetime. This is about 36% more than the $188 spent by Canadian women.

What are we buying?

If you’ve ever had a few too many, it may come as little surprise that we’re most likely to spend our loonies on food while drunk. Over half (56%) of those who said they’d made a drunk purchase did so. The next most common items bought while drunk included more alcohol (51%), shoes and clothes, (30%), cigarettes (29%) and gambling (28%).

More men buy tech products when drunk compared to women (19% vs 8%), with drunk men also more likely than women to buy cigarettes, food and gamble. However, drunk women beat out men for clothing and accessory purchases (38% vs 25%).

How does spending differ between the generations?

They may be the newest generation to walk the earth, but they’re also the ones most likely to spend it up big while on the booze, with generation Z spending an average of $312. They were followed by generation Y ($277), baby boomers ($235) and generation X ($147).

Interestingly, generation Z men outspent generation Z women at a rate of eight to one, which was by far the biggest gender discrepancy across all generations.

Which province has the most drunk shoppers?

In Saskatchewan, you’ll find the most drunk shoppers, with nearly half of people (44%) from this province admitting to making a purchase while under the influence. They also spend the most, with an average spend of $415. Canadians from New Brunswick and Manitoba have spent the least per person while boozed, with an average spend of just $104 and $106, respectively.

Past drunk shopping surveys

• Drunk shopping report 2018

  We’ve heard of drunk Facebooking and drunk dialing, but there’s a new one to add to the list – drunk shopping. It turns out that almost 1 in 5 of those who drink (17%) admit to shopping under the influence over the past 12 months. That’s an estimated 4.3 million of us!

  This drunk shopping habit ends up totalling to an estimated $724 million, according to a survey of 2,000 Canadian adults in June 2018. Perhaps now we should be handing over our credit cards as well as our car keys when a boozy night looms.

  What are most likely to buy when we shop under the influence? It’s an equal tie between food and clothing, with 47% of those who drunk shop doing each of them. Following this is gambling (25%) and cigarettes (25%).

  As for the least likely item? A car, with only 1% of Canadians who’ve made drunk purchases in the past making this mistake. Other notable things we’ve bought under the influence is a travel trailer and stocks.

  Let’s break it down

  Generation

  Millennials are the most likely to drink and shop, at 35% of those who drink. This is followed by Gen Xers at 19%, then baby boomers at a much smaller 6%.

  Millennials beat out all other generations when it comes to drunk buying clothing (53%), cigarettes (28%), narcotics (12%), music (18%), vacations (16%), pets (9%) and furniture (8%). Gen Xers, on the other hand, are the most likely to go drunk gambling (30%), buy movies (17%), other tech products (18%) food (50%), a car (2%) and a motorbike (4%). Baby boomers aren’t as into drunk shopping as the other generations, but they tie in equal second place with Gen Xers as buying a vacation after a few drinks (13%).

  Despite this, when baby boomers do drunk shop, they go big, spending an estimated $191 on average. Gen Xers follow at $173, then millennials at $158.

  Gender

  Men are only slightly more likely to make drunk purchases than women, at 18% of men who drink compared to 16% of women. They’re also spending more on average on drunk purchases over the past 12 months, at $189 compared to a lower average of $151 for women.

  Women are more likely to drunk buy clothing (55% compared to 40% of men who make drunk purchases) and food (49% compared to 46% of men). Men are more likely to buy all other categories, as seen in the graph below.

  Region

  Two regions tie as equally likely to drunk shop: the Atlantic Region and the Prairie Provinces at 19% of those who drink each. Central Canada follows (16%), then the West Coast (15%).
  Those on the West Coast are most likely to drunk buy clothing (55%), while Central Canada is the only region with those who have bought a car while drunk (2%, compared to 0% for all other regions).

  Those in the Prairie Provinces are most likely to drunk buy food (56%), narcotics (10%), cigarettes (33%), movies (19%) and to gamble (35%). The Atlantic Region holds those most likely to buy music while under the influence (21%) and a motorbike (5%).

  How does Canada’s drunk shopping compare to the US?

  In the US, nearly half of those who drink (46%) drunk shop. In comparison, only 17% of Canadian drinkers have admitted to this problem in the past 12 months. However while baby boomers spend the most drunk shopping in Canada, it’s Generation X who are making it rain in the US – they’re spending $982 (US$739) on average, compared to Canada’s baby boomers at a much more respectable $191.

  For more on how we compare to the US, check out how their drunk shopping habit has changed over the years.

  How can we stop our drunk shopping habit?

  Luckily for us, this isn’t the first time someone’s woken up with a hangover and a extra-long credit card bill. We’ve rounded up some of the best apps and Chome plugins you can use to avoid this.

  Brand	Features
  Icebox	This free Chrome extension, developed by finder.com, lets you put your purchases “on ice” for a spell until you’re able to complete it. Replaces the buy button on the most popular e-commerce sites. Also can add a reminder to put your purchase “on ice” on over 400 online stores. Set cooling period for as long as you wish. Available for devices using Google Chrome.
  Drnkpay	Link your credit and debit cards to the app, and choose how many drinks you plan to have in advance. Select which types of payments to block for 12 hours, including bars, restaurants, online shopping and more. If you try to make a purchase, a breathalyzer that’s connected to your system through Bluetooth is used to authorize the payment. If you’re under your predefined limit, the payment can be made. Otherwise, the cards are blocked and can’t be used. If your cards are all blocked, a special feature allows you to call an Uber to get home safely. Available for iOS and Android devices.
  Focus Me	Block any websites, like Amazon or your favorite stores, for a certain amount time. Track the time you spend on certain websites to maximize efficiency. Create custom focus plans tailored to your personal routine to boost your productivity. Available for macOS, Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7 devices.
  Freedom	Block websites, apps or even the whole Internet with the click of a button. Start a block on the fly or schedule blocks in advance, like during the hours you’re most likely under the influence. Create customizable block lists, like one with all your go-to stores for drunk shopping. Available for macOS, Windows Vista, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 and iOS devices.

  Methodology

  This data is from a survey of 2,000 Canadian adults commissioned by finder.com and conducted by OnePoll in June 2018. Due to not having enough respondents, the North region (Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory) were not included in the geographical breakdown.

For media inquiries:

Susannah Binsted
Public Relations Manager
susannah.binsted@finder.com

Madeleine Gracie
Communications and Campaign Specialist
madeleine.gracie@finder.com

Written by

Richard Laycock

Lead Editor & Insights Editor

Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based lead editor & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU). See full bio