People deal with the horrors of an extremely close, high-stakes presidential election in many different ways. Some throw themselves into work, others consume gallons of wine, and others lace up their most comfortable shoes and go canvassing. Another method of self-soothing has recently been on the rise, however, and this one comes with a nasty financial hangover.
According to a study conducted in late-October by Qualtrics on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma, 27% of Americans are “doom spending”—i.e. going shopping in order to cope, paradoxically, with economic fears—and 40% of them say they doom-spend more now than they did last year. Considering that over a quarter of those surveyed blame their worries about the state of the world and the economy on the presidential election, it seems as if all the debates, polls, and apocalyptic fundraising text messages might be inspiring rampant retail therapy some folks can ill-afford.
“Many Americans spend money as a coping mechanism when they’re feeling emotionally charged—whether they’re looking to relieve stress, want to get their mind off something, want that dopamine hit, or want to feel in control of something,” says Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Intuit Credit Karma. “It’s likely safe to say that many Americans don’t feel in control right now, especially as it relates to the fate of the election.”
Obviously, the election isn’t the only reason people are feeling stressed about the state of the economy. Respondents to the survey—whose sample size topped 1,000 people—reported several other top concerns, including cost of living, inflation, unaffordable housing, and wage stagnation. Unlike those other economic worries, however, the election has an end date that can feel like a ticking time bomb the closer it approaches. And according to a recent annual survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, seven out of 10 adults say the future of the nation is currently a significant source of stress in their lives.
As an election approaches, and anxiety ramps up, the temptation to consume as much information on social media as possible becomes difficult for some to resist. Unfortunately, owing to the way social media is designed—and because, as Aley mentions, 53% of Americans claim they feel like they’re constantly receiving bad news online—doomscrolling has a way of leading directly to doom spending.
“So many people are chronically online and on social media, ingesting content that may be heightening these feelings,” says Alev. “At the same time, they’re being targeted by personalized ads and shopping marketplaces that make spending money online all too easy.”
The election stress, and the added enticement to catch all the important news right as it breaks online at any given moment, arrives at a time when a lot of Americans don’t have the finances to support impulsive shopping habits. As the Intuit Credit Karma survey notes, 19% of Americans in the study reported having $0 in savings currently, with 43% going so far as to say they’ve given up on achieving certain financial milestones because they feel too out of reach.
Younger Americans appear particularly susceptible to the pull of doom spending. Compared with the overall 27% of respondents who have apparently given in to the temptation, 37% of Gen Z and 39% of millennials report doom spending recently. And to make matters worse, these age groups are more likely to be saddled with student loans than Gen Xers and boomers.
“Doom spending is especially concerning for young Americans who are already experiencing debt growth at faster rates than other generations,” says Aley. “In fact, the Credit Karma platform shows that average credit card balances for Gen Z and millennials are up by 66% and 52%, respectively.”
Fortunately election stress is ultimately temporary. Soon enough, the ballots will be counted, the election will be over, and doom spenders will have one fewer sources of anxiety. But they’ll still be stuck paying the credit card bill.