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Study finds differences between men and women when it comes to impulse purchases

Nearly 90 percent of millennials said they had made an impulse purchase, compared to just 56 percent of seniors.

November 24, 2014

Three in four Americans have made an impulse purchase, according to a new CreditCards.com report, and nearly half of those regretted doing so.

An impulse purchase was defined as any unplanned or unnecessary decision to buy a product just before the purchase. Nearly 90 percent of millennials said they had made an impulse purchase, compared to just 56 percent of seniors.

The survey also found real differences among Americans when it comes to what triggers these purchases, how much we spend and whether we ended up regretting them. For example:

• Men were nearly three times more likely than women to impulse buy while "intoxicated," while women were twice as likely as men to impulse buy while "sad." The most common emotions at the time of purchase? "Excited" and "bored."
• Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say they regretted an impulse purchase, and women were more likely than men.
• College graduates were more likely to make impulse purchases than non-college graduates. And suburban residents were more likely than urban or rural residents.
• Nearly one in three Americans had spent $100 or more on an impulse purchase, but men were the biggest spenders. They were almost three times more likely than women to have spent $1,000 or more on an impulse buy.

Respondents were about as likely to make impulse purchases in-person and online. Cash was the top payment choice for impulse purchases (33 percent), just barely ahead of debit (32 percent) and credit (30 percent) cards.