There is little disagreement that shopping comprises a significant portion of our lives. And to some extent, this is entirely expected—to live is to consume. However, in most developed nations, shopping has long since passed the role of necessity and has entered the realm of sport.
Our fascination with shopping and consumption has produced many harmful effects on our lives (debt, stress, and busyness). And yet, it continues. Unfortunately, to a degree that few us even realize.
Based on a variety of studies and research methods, here are 17 staggering statistics that articulate our current passion and obsession for shopping:
1. The average woman makes 301 trips to the store annually, spending close to 400 hours a year shopping. This amounts to 8.5 years spent shopping during a typical lifespan. (NY Daily News)
2. Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches ($100 billion) than on higher education. (Psychology Today)
3. Shopping malls outnumber high schools in America. (Affluenza)
4. 33% of Americans shop online at least once per week. 69% shop online at least monthly. (Mintel)
5. While 50% of online shoppers will increase the size of their orders just to hit the free shipping minimum. (Mintel)
6. An estimated two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) comes from retail consumption. (The Balance).
7. On average, an American between the ages of 18 and 65 has $4,717 of credit card debt. (TIME)
8. 63% of Americans do not have enough savings to cover a $500 emergency. (Forbes)
9. When asked about hobbies, girls (age 13-18) identified shopping as their favorite pastime. (Adweek)
10. And 96% of adults and 95% of teens admit they participate in some form of retail therapy. (Yahoo)
11. More than a third of adults and teens said shopping made them feel better than working out. (Yahoo)
12. The average American throws away 65 pounds of clothing per year. (Huffington Post)
13. The $8 billion home organization industry has more than doubled in size since the early 2000’s—growing at a staggering rate of 10% each year. (Uppercase, note: link no longer available)
14. Americans now spend more money on dining out than groceries. (Fox News)
15. The average American woman spends 190 hours each year shopping for clothes, shoes, or window shopping. That same survey found that these same women spend 95 hours shopping for food—this task occupies only half the time of shoe, clothes and window shopping. (Forbes)
16. 50% of Americans will go shopping on Black Friday. (Syracuse)
17. Worldwide, total retail sales were more than $22 trillion in 2014, according to a report from eMarketer.com. And total annual U.S. retail sales have increased an average of 4.5% between 1993 and 2015, according to the U.S. (The Balance)
The numbers paint a jarring picture of excessive shopping and unnecessary consumption. This fascination with shopping might be okay if it was improving the happiness of our lives. But as most of us know, the happiness derived from accumulating material possessions doesn’t last. We ought to be looking elsewhere.
Interesting that most of the references are about women and girls, yet many men are also “collectors,” (model cars, guns, electronics, books, vinyl records, etc. and some even clothing and shoes)… so when it’s women it’s shopping and men « collecting? »… just like women are mostly cooks and men mostly chefs? Both genders are consumer challenged…
More than once, I’ve caught my husband talking to both the UPS and Amazon delivery guys in our driveway. They’re dropping off stuff he’s ordered which also thwarts my decluttering efforts.????
I realized this about 24 yrs ago . I went out for lunch with friends and then shopped the afternoon away to the tune of $100 a day . That’s a lot of money over a year . It’s a hard habit to break . ???? I now make a list of actual needs and have stopped the shopping for entertainment.
Hello,
I totally agree with you that money doesn’t make you happy and all these purchases are useless. The American’s shopping habit is out of control.
Thank you for this article,
Have a Nice day
HI there, this is an eye opener! I have just started a blog around money and wealth and conscious consuming. Would I be able to use the statistic you use and quote you as well?
All the best
Tiffany from wealthforwomxn.com
I am writing from England UK.
This new year the retail shops appear to be displaying and promoting the need to have free standing storage units to sit on your drive or outside garage as extra storage. Never noticed this in previous years.
UK shops are open 24/7, and it’s just as bad here as well.
My weak spot is groceries pop into a supermarket every day. We have many in our small town in Kent, South-east England. A supermarket in UK sell everything not just groceries.
It is so hard minimising items in a shared family home when your spouse doesn’t seem to recognise the clutter especially old electronic technology doubling on the product when upgrading.
Love following becoming minimalist.
Wow ! For some people is ahopping really an adiction and for what cost ?
You can better spend your money on other useful things !
I have a question: is it ok to like interior design and design your home while still being a minimalist? Or does these two don’t work together? I want to live a minimalistic life but I also love interior design.
Sure, go for it.
As a woman and mom who believes in cooking from scratch, number fourteen alarms me for the families of the next generation.
Crazy stats, Joshua. Thanks for compiling them together. This explains why the American retirement crisis is real as I covered in one of my articles.
I completely agree that our shopping habit is out of control. But are there stats available for men’s shopping habits? I see that many of these stats place the onus on women; I know men overshop and overspend as well, and I’d like to see that impact, too.
I used to be a hooooorrible impulse shopper in college. I wasted thousands of dollars on products that I never even used–it was ridiculous! I eventually had to lock up all of my cards and switch to a cash-only envelope system (a la Dave Ramsey).
That finally did the trick, but ultimately real change came from shifting my attitude towards consumption. “Do I need this item to survive? How will I feel about this item in five years? Could the money spent on this item be better spent elsewhere?”
Interesting. A few of these are pitiful – not $500 in savings but $4000 in debt?
But, to be fair, people of every other age would be amazed that we can acquire everything we physically need for life in about 1 hour per day. Getting food, clothing, bedding for a family etc has historically taken much more, from hunter-gatherer to walking to the market and visiting several vendors. I’d be interested in how much time those in less prosperous countries spend on the same goals.
Thanks much for the eye-opening post! While I do not consider myself a shopper for retail therapy, I realize I spend a lot of time finding the best deal both online and in stores, and in the process end up looking at many other things to consider buying, and also waste time time and resources buying and returning. Will think through more next time I need to purchase something.