Alcohol-influenced online shopping habits revealed

Friday, April 1, 2016 - 13:50 by Sarah Collinson

In recent years a number of studies have suggested that people in the UK are more than willing to carry out safe shopping online while under the influence of alcoholic drinks, even if they ultimately regret the purchases they have made.

Now a new survey from Lyst has provided additional details about the trends that this type of indulgence can generate, according to the Daily Mail.

For female consumers, the peak period for 'drunk shopping' is early on a Saturday morning after having been out and about on a Friday night. In fact, there are 48 per cent more e-commerce orders placed at 2am at the weekend than during the same hour on a Monday.

Late night shopping orders also tend to be almost a third more valuable than their weekday counterparts, with popular purchases including lingerie and wine.

Clothing in general is a popular category for tipsy shoppers to pick up, with analysts guessing that people are more willing to treat themselves to an item they have had on their wish list when their inhibitions have been lowered by alcohol.

This is news that retailers will no doubt capitalise on when determining the timing of offers and sales. But consumers should also be aware of the issues that they might face if drinking influences them to go on an e-commerce shopping spree.

Luckily, any regretful purchase can be returned to reputable retailers for a refund. And in many instances, orders can be cancelled before they have even been fulfilled, preventing the arrival of items which are actually unwanted in the cold light of day.

The convenience of safe shopping online means that people can treat themselves at any time of the day or night; the only question is whether they can and should do this.