“Doom spending” is how shoppers are coping with economic stress. According to Intuit Credit Karma, “more than a quarter of Americans (27%) ’doom spend’ to cope with stress.” A consumer financial advocate at the company says, “Much like doom scrolling, we’re seeing people mindlessly shop to soothe concerns about the economy and foreign affairs, which could take a toll on their financial well being.” And of course, the rise of mobile and social shopping makes impulse shopping as easy as scrolling. In fact, Adobe reports that online shopping on Black Friday totaled $9.8B (up 7.5% from last year) and more than half of that revenue came from mobile purchases. While the study only surveyed those aged 18-years-and-older, Credit Karma found doom spending to be highest among Gen Z (35%) and Millennials (43%). (Business Insider)
