UK Consumers Spending Nearly £41bn On Impulse Purchases Annually

• 88% of Brits (59.6bn) make an impulse purchase at least once a month
• The average Brit splurges £605.13 on impulse buys each year
• Every year £40.91bn is spent on impulse purchases
• 16% of Brits have no savings because of their impulse buying habits 

Over the last month alone Brits have made a whopping 200 million impulse purchases, according to new research. 

The study by the UK’s most-trusted discount site, VoucherCodes.co.uk, reveals each month Brits splurge an astonishing £3.41bn on impulse buys1. Over a year, this adds up to £40.91bn - good news for retailers but not so good news for our wallets.

An enormous 88% of Brits, or 59.5bn people, make an impulse purchase at least once a month. With each Brit making 40 impulse buys a year, this totals 2.4 billion items bought on a whim. 

Breaking this down, it means each person in the UK is spending £50.43 a month on impulse purchases, equating to £605.13 a year - that’s the cost of a holiday. 

It’s the younger generations who are the biggest culprits, with those aged 18-24 most likely to make impulse purchases. With 97% splurging on an impulse buy at least once a month and their average spend totalling £54.57, they’re the most spend happy generation. At the other end of the scale, only 74% of over 65s impulse buy, with a much lower average monthly spend of  £40.14. 

Whilst the majority of impulse buys are small, taking place at the local supermarket (45%), they do add up and this can have a big impact on our finances. One-third of Brits say that impulse purchases mean they waste their money on things they don’t need (32%), and another 18% always regret their decision. More seriously, 16% of Brits say that because of their impulse buying habits they have no savings, and one-tenth burn through their wages before the end of the month (9%), leaving 8% in debt. 

Anita Naik, Savings Expert at VoucherCodes.co.uk, comments: “We’re all guilty of making an impulse purchase every once in a while - I know I certainly am! But, it’s important to keep track of how often and how much you’re spending so the habit doesn’t become out of control.

“There’s lots of easy ways to curb your impulse spending depending on what your triggers are. For example, 45% of people make impulse purchases when they’re grocery shopping so avoiding shopping when you’re hungry and taking a shopping list could help keep spending on track. One-quarter of us tend to splurge on payday so creating a budget could be a good way to avoid splurges as all your money is allocated throughout the month. Lastly, 14% of people are led astray by TikTok. If you’re guilty of this, try setting app limits and leaving your phone in a different room as this will help to remove any scrolling temptation.

Source : VoucherCodes.co.uk

Image : Olena Yakobchuk / shutterstock.com / 1230910540

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