Drunk shopping

Actually, I'm going to be honest: I thought this would be a bigger number. Also, 7 other things worth knowing today.

People sometimes do crazy things when they've been drinking.

I don't mean terrible things. That's another column. Instead, I'm thinking of things that fall more into the category of "laugh about it later, seemed like a better idea at the time."

If a new survey holds water (or maybe something stronger), we can put some numbers on one such behavior: shopping.

The folks at Finder.com say they commissioned a study of 2,179 representative adults earlier this year, and asked them whether they'd made a recent purchase while they were under the influence of alcohol—and if so, how much they spent.

Their findings included:

• Roughly 17 percent of survey respondents acknowledged making at least one drunk purchase over the past year. (Broken down by generation, Gen-Z was 28 percent, Gen-Y was 33 percent, Gen-X was 8 percent, and Boomers were 2 percent.)

• Average total spending while under the influence? That's $309, which would work out to about $14 billion. (Actually, I'm going to be honest: I thought this would be a bigger number.)

• The number one category of drunk purchases by both men and women, according to the survey, was shoes, clothes, and accessories (46 percent of purchases reported by men, and 50 percent of those reported by women).

Rounding out the top categories: food, alcohol, gambling, and cigarettes.

And while it wasn't at the top, it's eye-catching that 16 percent of those who said they had engaged in drunk shopping said they'd actually bought a motor vehicle as a result.

So, what to make of this? Well, as a person who may or may not have been in a bar or two once or twice in his life, I'm going to profess very little surprise at the idea that people who have been drinking might be inclined to buy food, cigarettes, or more alcohol.

You'll forgive me if I don't take our time to commission a separate field study to figure that one out.

As for the top category of shoes, clothes, and accessories, although the survey didn't break out online shopping versus in-person, I think we can all assume fairly safely that a lot of that drunk clothes shopping is done with a glass of their favorite beverage in one hand and a smartphone in the other.

We can also hope without knowing for sure that the overwhelming majority of respondents who talked about buying cars and trucks were also simply doing online research, as opposed to taking test drives while under the influence.

(Although, since Tesla sells all of its cars online, I'd love it if the company someday revealed its time-of-purchase data, and we could track how many Model Ss, 3s, Xs, and Ys were bought on weekend nights after last call.)

I have three takeaways:

• First, it's intriguing to note that this significant report of the total shopping-while-intoxicated economy comes after the National Retail Federation reported that Americans return roughly $816 billion a year in merchandise they bought but later didn't want.

• Next, while I'm not going to suggest business owners want to intentionally target inebriated customers, it's certainly worth being aware that there might be certain times of day when consumers are a little looser with their wallets. Do with that as you see fit.

• And, finally, after a long, hard day or week of building a great business, if you're having a drink to unwind, maybe institute a hard-and-fast personal "wait 24 hours to decide to buy" policy. 

Especially if you're among the 16 percent who might want to buy a car. They'll still have Teslas tomorrow.

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7 other things worth knowing today

• The U.S. Army spent a ton of money on a new marketing campaign that features actor Jonathan Majors, and was set to pepper the airwaves with the new ads during the NCAA tournament this weekend. Only problem: Majors was arrested in New York on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment. Now the army is scrambling to cut new ads without Majors, so a $70 million ad buy can still be used. (AP)

• Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts and industry executives are calling for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI's newly launched GPT-4, in an open letter citing potential risks to society and humanity. "Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable," the letter said. (U.S. News)

• Seeking to keep violent passengers grounded, a trio of lawmakers will again introduce legislation that would create a no-fly list for people fined for or convicted of “serious physical violence and abuse.” The Protection from Abusive Passengers Act has bipartisan support, but similar legislation last year went nowhere. (Washington Post)

• 'Nature gave us a lifeline': Southern California is refilling its largest reservoir in dramatic fashion, with water rushing into Diamond Valley Lake, which was considerably drained during the state's driest three years on record. (LA Times)

• An effort to sell a 600-year-old human skull at a rural North Carolina auction house was abruptly halted over the weekend after a group of opponents led by Native Americans intervened. The canceled auction is just one example of a long, emotional quest by tribal and federal officials to stop the buying and selling of native human remains. (News & Observer)

• Why choose? Earlier this month, YouTube TV launched a new “multiview” feature that allows viewers to watch up to four streams of sports content at once. Now it looks like Apple TV is working on a similar option. Though Apple’s streaming device already supports a picture-in-picture mode, new code discovered in the latest iOS beta points to a possible four-up multiview feature in the works. (Tech Crunch)

• The NFL's Washington Commanders are up for sale, and there are reportedly at least two $6 billion bids, including one involving Magic Johnson. The record for any professional sports team is currently $4 billion. (Yahoo Sports)

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Thanks for reading. Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments.