Many Americans “Doom Spend” to Deal with Stress

More than one in four American shoppers are engaging in “doom spending,” a recent survey conducted by Qualtrics for Intuit Credit Karma found. The study defines “doom spending” as spending money to cope with stress related to concerns about the economy and foreign affairs to cope with stress.

“Much like [online] 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,” said Courtney Alev, Consumer Financial Advocate at Credit Karma.

Other findings within the survey include:

• More than a quarter of Americans (27 percent) “doom spend” to cope with stress.
• 96 percent of Americans are concerned about the current state of the economy.
• Nearly one third (32 percent) of Americans have taken on more debt in the last six months amid increased spending (27 percent).

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Qualtrics between Nov. 3-Nov. 9 with responses from among 1004 adults ages 18 and up.

Click here for more from the survey.