Comments on
Drunk Online Shopping

By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

Drunk Online ShoppingDo you engage in drunk online shopping? Apparently, you aren’t alone.

Alcohol decreases our inhibitions, and removes that rational switch that normally intercedes between our emotional selves and a particular behavior. That’s why people drink in social situations — it makes it easier to engage in social activities without worrying about what others think of you or over-analyzing the situation.

Ki Mae Heussner has the story about drunk shopping online, over at ABC News. Drunk shopping is when you’ve had a little bit to drink, your inhibitions are down, and you decide to make a purchase or two that maybe you didn’t really need.

There hasn’t been any research done on this phenomenon yet, but we do have anecdotal evidence that drunk shopping online is something more than a few people do.

0 Comments to
Drunk Online Shopping

Before posting, please read our blog moderation guidelines. The comments below begin with the oldest comments first. Click on the last comments page to jump to the most recent comments.

  1. Ha! I did this when was taking Ambien. It was particularly bad when I took the extended release type. Since I couldn’t sleep, I’d kill time online until the sleepiness kicked in.

    After a few months of taking Ambien, I started buying things online during the “waiting period” between ingestion and sleep. I had a particular affinity for loose freshwater pearls (I make jewelry). Some of the pearls I bought were just gorgeous–and pricey. I never would have splurged that way at any other point in the day.

    At first I didn’t even remeber shopping, but little packages started arriving, and my credit card statements corroborated what I was doing.

    At first I was embarrassed, but I had to compliment myself on my fabulous fine taste in pearl selection. In the end, it was just funny. A bit painful financially, though.

    My husband and I agreed that going forward, I would no longer even take Ambien until the computer was turned off. Pearls, mmmmmmmm, pretty…

  2. I never experienced that because , i don’t drink:)

  3. I gave a comment a few days ago and it was a good one, but I never saw it posted. Drunk online shopping can be a habit just like drinking or anything else.
    They are looking for escape, a release, something that they can do in their drunken state, by them selves that will make them feel good. There are better ways to shop online.

Join the Conversation!

Before posting, please read our blog moderation guidelines.

Post a Comment:


(Required, will be published)

(Required, but will not be published)

(Optional)

Recent Comments
  • Dan V: Reply to Nerf, I’m sorry but I don’t feel any compassion for you in the past, present or future. I...
  • Deb Taylor: As an Alumni of many of her online workshops, Vivienne has taught me more than I could ever imagined...
  • April: I had the opposite experience. I was raised by my Jewish mother but had Santa at my dad’s house. I never...
  • Joel Hassman, MD: The multiaxial system was removed, in my opinion, to make the biological focus so narrow, a pin...
  • Anne Ria Elding: So how does a non-narcissist deal with the narcissistic loved ones in her life?
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter


Find a Therapist


Users Online: 13042
Join Us Now!