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September 3, 2025
Why Are Gen Xers the Most Susceptible to Impulse Buying, and What Does the Future Hold for Impulse Shopping?
Younger Americans — at least relatively young, in some cases — appear to be most susceptible to impulse buying, according to Liquid Web data provided to Chain Store Age.
As CSA senior editor Dan Berthiaume outlined in poring over the survey results, Gen Xers came out on top in terms of being most likely to engage in an impulse-based purchase (at 17%), followed by slightly younger millennial shoppers (14%) and members of Gen Z (11%).
“The most common impulse purchases were clothing (43%), food and drink (41%), and electronics (41%). Gen Z respondents gravitated most toward food and drink (67%), while millennials favored clothing (47%) and Gen X respondents most often purchased home goods (45%),” Berthiaume wrote.
Amazon Dominates the Impulse Buying Marketplace, While Social Media Platforms Capture the Interest of Gen Z
It may come as little surprise that the e-commerce elephant in the room, namely Amazon, was the merchant most cited as the source of U.S. shoppers’ impulse buying, with almost three-quarters (74%) of respondents quickly snagging a buy immediately after having been served an ad. YouTube and Facebook fell far behind of the bar set by the black-and-yellow brand, with 29% and 27% of respondents, respectively, indicating a post-ad buying decision concerning these platforms.
However, of those who did pull the trigger on a quick purchase following an ad, Gen Z respondents were by far more likely to do so on social media platforms — including YouTube (47%), Instagram (40%), Reddit (33%), and TikTok (27%).
Overall, about one-in-seven (or 14%) of respondents indicated they had made a recent online impulse buy — qualified as making a purchase within one minute of having seen an ad.
Other interesting findings from the study include:
- “Urgency-based tactics,” as Berthiaume put it, including triggers such as flash sales and countdown timers, were cited by 70% of impulse buyers as the primary driver behind a purchase decision.
- Nearly all of those surveyed (85%) indicated regretting at least one impulsive online purchase, with Gen Z leading the pack in this regard (89%).
- Nearly half of respondents (42%) indicated that they were most likely to purchase impulsively in the evening, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., with Fridays and Saturdays being the most common days to do so.
- One-fifth of those surveyed (20%) had spent more than $200 on an impulse buy.
Finally, fast and frictionless checkout was a logical necessity to facilitate impulse purchasing behavior. Nearly all (90%) of e-commerce businesses surveyed had implemented fast checkout procedures — and of these, 71% said doing so had improved customer retention.
On the consumer side, integration bugs presented the most common checkout issues (43%), with customer confusion over the process (38%), platform limitations (28%), and lack of developer support (22%) following.
“The data shows fast checkout isn’t just a convenience, it’s a catalyst for growth,” Kyleigh Fitzgerald, director of product marketing at Liquid Web, said of the necessity for quick and easy checkout.
“This highlights a larger shift in consumer psychology. The future of ecommerce isn’t just fast—it’s instantaneous,” Fitzgerald added.
Discussion Questions
Do you believe the data suggesting Gen Xers are most susceptible to impulse buying to be accurate? Why or why not? If so, what could be driving this behavior?
Will social media platforms eventually displace Amazon at the top of the e-commerce impulse buying pyramid?
What can be done to lower the rate of regret among those who engage in impulse shopping?
Poll
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Lisa Goller
B2B Content Strategist
Brad Halverson
Principal, Clearbrand CX
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Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
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Is this driven by generation or lifestage? I suspect the latter. Gen X are in their peak earning years and have largely moved beyond the family-formation stage. So, compared with other cohorts, they enjoy more disposable income which makes it easier to indulge and buy on impulse. Generally, Boomers are also affluent, but their lives are more settled, meaning they have fewer material needs. As for impulse buying more broadly, it has always been – and will always be – a feature of consumer behavior. The real brake comes from willingness and ability to spend, and both are under greater strain at the moment.
Tomorrow’s topic: “Will AI allow people to buy more than they can afford, and is this a good thing for retailers?”
Don’t even suggest it!!
The psychology and economics of this scenario are quite straightforward:
Is Gen X truly the most impulse-prone group?
Possibly—but context matters. The Liquid Web data shows Gen Xers leading at 17%, yet other research paints them as more judicious and value-focused. Differences in impulsivity between generations may not be as stark as they appear, and often reflect spending triggers and life stages more than age alone.
What drives their impulse buying?
Probably a blend of financial ease, life-stage freedom, strategic value-seeking behaviors, and susceptibility to traditional advertising—all combining in ways that skew the data upward.
Will social media supplant Amazon for impulse purchases?
Not yet. While social platforms see growing impulse activity—especially among Millennials and Gen Z—Amazon still dominates in fast, frictionless impulse buys. But social media is gaining ground, and the dynamics could shift incrementally over time.
How can regret be reduced?
Encouraging a pause before buying, building friction into purchasing flows, budgeting with designated treat money, using mindful checklists, applying rules like the 1% delay, and—most of all—recognizing emotional triggers can all help shoppers make smarter, more satisfying decisions.
Gen Xs buy on impulse, as we tend to have more disposable income than younger cohorts (done with daycare) and less time than older cohorts (not retired yet). Many of us also have longer shopping lists, as we buy for our kids and parents.
While social media platforms are exceptionally efficient (Shopify collaborations let me discover and pay in seconds), Amazon will be hard to top for impulse buys anytime soon. 1-Click ordering, reliable delivery and detailed reviews have allowed Amazon to earn deep brand trust and top-of-mind status.
A driver influencing current Gen X purchase behavior is growing up in the teenage years and beyond in the middle of an industry revolution in media and entertainment. MTV music videos 24 hours a day were packed full of entertainment and targeted commercials, while an expanded offering in digital cable tv grew well beyond 500 channels. This comfort with visual media laid the groundwork for today’s use of video, digital and social as a decision making driver. Now that Gen Xers have higher disposable incomes, houses, and a family ecosystem of both kids and parents, spending on life’s small luxuries is natural. We can call it impulse buying, but it’s more a natural outcome of influences, life stages, and income levels.
Gen X is no more inherently prone to compulsive purchases than others. As the ‘sandwich generation,’ Gen X copes with heuristic mental shortcuts amid a cacophony of cognitive load. In an agentic commerce future, the traditional funnel from discovery to purchase collapses, making the distinction between discovery platforms and transaction platforms meaningless. In an agentic future, the power lies with which agents consumers deploy and who controls those agents. Remember the Netflix evolution from the consumer searching for their next movie versus the algorithm recommending their next film. This makes the Amazon versus Social Media platforms irrelevant for impulse and other purchases. The future is agentic.
My first thought was similar to Neil’s: Is this a lifestage thing? Gen X and Baby Boomers, having more discretionary income, buy because they can. For younger generations it’s about temptation and convenience. Impulse control can be tough, especially for those who rarely have had to carry, count or hand over actual money. There is a life lesson here that is not being learned and it works to retails advantage.
Is this more about math or emotion? Need or want? Irresponsible indulgence or a simple occasional treat for yourself? Isn’t it some combination of all of the above? Which in my mind means that Neil nailed it. Lifestage. Different impulses playing out at different lifestages. But who doesn’t want to engage in a little self indulgence every now and then?
And yes, rates of regret do lower…with every year you are on the planet. Adult thinking and behavior engages sooner or later…in varying degrees…sort of…maybe…some day…
Gen X leading impulse buying makes sense. They have strong spending power and are comfortable with digital shopping, so convenience and quick promotions often drive their decisions.
The real concern is regret. When most customers regret an impulse buy, the short-term gain can hurt long-term trust. Retailers can lower this risk by making information clear, returns easy, and recommendations more relevant, so impulse feels rewarding instead of wasteful.
Amazon will stay ahead because of its scale and fast checkout, but social platforms are shaping the next wave by merging entertainment with shopping. The future belongs to retailers who can deliver both speed and meaningful experiences.