1 in 7 Brits say they would spend £100 on an impulse purchase

One in seven Brits would spend up to £100 on an impulse buy, according to a new survey.

Research conducted for budgeting account provider thinkmoney.co.uk found that one in seven (14%) respondents said that they would spend up to £100 on impulse buys – anything they hadn’t planned to purchase before seeing it while in the shops. Nearly a third (30%) said that they would spend £50 or more on impromptu purchases.

A sixth (16%) of respondents said that their impulse purchase threshold was just £10, while the same number said they’d be willing to stretch to £20. However, one in 10 (11%) Brits said they were never tempted to spend money when they hadn’t previously planned to.

The top purchase that Brits were willing to make on an impulse was clothes, with almost three in 10 (29%) saying they’d spend on a whim for fashion. Brits also proved they love a sweet treat as a sixth (16%) admitted that they’d buy chewing gum or chocolate spontaneously. One in seven (15%) even said they’d be most likely to make an impulse purchase of electrical goods or gadgets; items which may attract a high price tag.

There were also a few differences between the genders when it came to what they were willing to part with their cash for on the spur of the moment. One in 10 (10%) men said they would spend money on a holiday or travel on a whim, while just 6% of women said the same. However, one in 10 (10%) women admitted to being likely to impulse buy cosmetics, beauty products or perfume – something that most male respondents had no interest in.

Ian Williams, spokesman for thinkmoney, says: “It’s nice to be able to buy something on a whim from time to time. But what is surprising is that so many people are prepared to make quite large unplanned purchases of £100 or so. There’s nothing wrong with this if you have budgeted well, but if it causes you to miss an important bill or dip overdrawn it could prove an expensive impulse.”