Americans Own Up to Their Wasteful Spending Habits
Gone are the days when shopping meant hopping into your car, or heaven forbid, actually walking to your local store to make your purchase. Back then, convenience meant using the Sears catalogue. You simply completed and mailed in the enclosed order form and in about 4-6 weeks your items would arrive at your doorstep.
Today, most of our purchases can be done with the click of a button on our laptop, tablet or smartphone. Want to buy a new car? It can now be done while sitting on your couch or relaxing on your patio deck. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce (online shopping) sales in America reached $1.2 trillion in 2024. That’s up 7.5% from 2023 and is double the $571.1 billion reported just five years ago. More than $500 billion of those e-commerce sales last year came from America’s two largest online retailers, Amazon and Walmart.
Over the years, how we shop has increasingly focused on convenience. For example, shopping for food is quickly becoming an at-home task. Depending on where you live, many grocery stores now offer both online ordering and delivery to your home. These stores include Costco, Walmart Grocery, Jewel-Osco, Aldi, Sam’s Club, Kroger and Hy-Vee, among others. According to data and statistics firm Research and Markets, U.S. online grocery shopping totaled $183.3 billion in 2024. By 2033, that number is expected to reach $715.5 billion.
This transformation has quickly extended to fast food restaurants. Online food order and delivery platforms such as DoorDash and Uber Eats have been cashing in on this growing trend. Founded in 2013, DoorDash posted revenues of $10.7 billion in 2024. Likewise, Uber Eats posted revenues of $13.7 billion last year.
Whether it’s by the click of a button or using our credit or debit cards, buying things has become a task of speed and efficiency. In 2024, the U.S. Federal Reserve notes that cash accounted for just 15% of all retail transactions. However, this speed and efficiency can often lead to impulse buying or a lack of scrutiny when paying our bills. Many of our bills are set to autopay while many of our monthly subscriptions are set to auto-renew.
But these efficiencies can have unintended consequences. In a recent survey by The Motley Fool, 85% of Americans say they engage in some aspect of wasteful spending at least occasionally. The most common wasteful spending habit cited (48%) is frequently dining out. Coming in at No. 2 (34%) is making impulse purchases while shopping online. This is followed by buying convenience foods/beverages (29%), discarding leftover/expired foods (28%) and paying for unused TV streaming services (25%).
The survey also examines when Americans tend to overspend the most. 37% of survey participants say they’re most susceptible to wasteful spending when they’re bored at home. Rounding out the Top 5 times we tend to overspend is during shopping trips (28%), during holidays/special occasions (13%), online late at night (12%) and during or after social events (6%).
Advancements in technology create efficiencies. But sometimes, we as consumers can become a victim to our never-ending quest for greater convenience. In a digital world where shopping is the click of a button or the swipe of a card, it often creates a lack of discipline in how we spend our money.
Mark M. Grywacheski, Investment Advisor
Quad Cities Investment Group is a Registered Investment Adviser.
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