This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: One Sunday morning, Juliet* woke up to a delivery driver with a large package that she had no recollection of ordering. She was quick to dismiss it as an e-commerce mistake before the card inside helped solve the mystery: "To Sober Juliet, from your friend, Drunk Juliet." The fact that this story was recounted to us while researching this topic illustrates the rise of a cultural trend that surprisingly few academics have explored.
Yet drunk shopping is a rapidly growing consumption phenomenon. Intoxicated consumers generate billions of dollars in annual revenue: By one U.S. survey estimate, around $45 billion a year. In the latest research I conducted with colleagues, we attempted to further explore this phenomenon and its ethical implications.
When alcohol enters the human body, it acts as a general disinhibitor, causing people to "let go" of the inhibitions that would normally constrain their actions and increasing the likelihood of foolish and risky behavior. Psychologists call the underlying mechanism alcohol myopia: shortsighted information processing that is part of alcohol intoxication. Alcohol reduces the scope and focus of attention, limiting both the range of cues that can be perceived and the ability to process them.
Behavior is based only on the most salient and compelling "go" cues in the environment, not the less salient and inhibiting "no-go" ones. While driving, this might mean missing a dog running into the road. On an electronic platform, it can mean that the inviting "buy now" button crowds out anything else on the screen.
People shopping while drunk may pay a great deal of attention to the payment process at the expense of other significant details, such as the amount of money they will spend or their selection of a preferred item. And this is not ordinary impulse buying. We define drunk shopping as a context-specific form of impulse purchasing, distinct from consumption when tired or stressed.
It reflects a situational, temporary impairment, not a chronic, trait-based vulnerability, such as materialism. Prompts such as one-click purchasing, stored credit card details, limited-time countdowns (for example, "offer ends at midnight") and scarcity prompts like "only two left in stock" may merely increase the likelihood of purchasing out of convenience or persuasion when a person is sober. But for alcohol-intoxicated consumers, these prompts may have a disproportionately strong effect by narrowing their attention and weakening their self-control.
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