Comparable to the GDP of a small country! Americans spend $71 billion on social media in one year

Although you are a seller, have you ever had the experience of impulse shopping on Douyin or Xiaohongshu?

Americans have the same troubles. According to a recent survey by Bankrate , in the past 12 months (August 2022-August 2323), Americans spent $71 billion on impulse purchases on social media. This figure is comparable to the annual GDP of countries such as Slovenia, Ghana, and Jordan. At the same time, more than half of these impulsive shoppers ( 57%) regretted at least one of their purchases.

In the overall time frame of the survey (the past 12 months and 12 months ago), nearly half (48%) of social media users said that they had impulsively purchased products they saw on social media, and 68% of buyers said they had regretted the purchase at least once.

In the past year, 39% of social media users have made impulse purchases, and 57% have regretted making a purchase at least once.

In terms of age groups, young people are more likely to make impulse purchases overall. Generation Z (18-26 years old) and millennials (27-42 years old) are the most likely to make impulse purchases influenced by social media.

Although Baby Boomers ( 59-77) are the least likely group to have made an impulse purchase on social media (in the past 12 months), they are also the most likely to regret it.

In terms of amount, the average amount Americans spent on impulse purchases on social media in the past 12 months was $754, and more than a quarter (26%) spent at least $500 on them.

Men and young people spend more: In the past year, male impulse buyers spent an average of $999, almost double the average for women, who spent $518.

Millennials spend the most on impulse purchases on social media of all age groups, twice as much as Generation X and Baby Boomers. Generation Z spends the most on impulse purchases of $500 or more, more than twice as much as Baby Boomers, who also spend the least.

In addition, the survey also mentioned that 57% of social media users believe that people post to make others feel that they are more successful, and 51% of users believe that social media promotes unrealistic lifestyles.

USA

Social Media Shopping

Impulse buying