Over half of UK adults (56 per cent) shopped while drunk in 2019, according to shopping comparison website finder.com.
Takeaways and food were the most popular item intoxicated Brits spent on last year, with one in two Brits (50 per cent) saying that they did this. In second place was clothing (28 per cent), with the average Brit spending £42.76 on shoes, apparel and accessories while under the influence in 2019.
This was followed by gambling and holidays in joint third position, with over a fifth (22 per cent) of Brits admitting to placing bets or elements of a holiday whilst drunk over the past year. However, it was holidays that Brits splurged the most on, with an average of £115.71 being spent on getaways while drunk.
Over the last year, Brits spent an average of £546.88 on drunk purchases; this equates to a total of £28.7 billion across the UK.
Men and women’s drunk shopping habits differed with men being more likely than women to shop when under the influence (58 per cent vs 53per cent). Men were also less careful with their money while drunk, spending £205.74 more than women on average (£654.56 vs £448.82). Additionally, across the 11 categories surveyed, men spent more than women in 9.
London had the highest concentration of drunk shoppers, with 67 per cent of residents here saying they shopped when tipsy. The capital was followed by the North East of England (64 per cent) and then Wales (63 per cent) closely behind. East Midlands and East Anglia had the lowest percentage of drunk shoppers, with under half buying something when drunk (46 per cent).
Generation Z (those born after 1996) was the age group who were most likely to spend whilst drinking (81 per cent) and spent £480.44 on average. However, it is generation X (those born 1965-1980) who fork out the most when under the influence with an average individual from this generation spending £685.65 throughout the last year.
Commenting on the findings, Georgia-Rose Johnson, shopping and travel specialist at finder.com, said: “Our research has highlighted that many Brits are spending money whilst drunk that they might not spend when they’re sober. These purchases may often be small amounts, but over the course of a year the costs add up.
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