Revenge Spending? More Like “Cautious Consumerism”

Are consumers “revenge spending” since Covid vaccines?

by Dan Fleetwood

President, Research & Insights at QuestionPro

Earlier this year, when vaccines started turning the tide of Covid’s spread, and as society began to take steps to “return to normal” the phrase “revenge spending” was coined. It was meant to describe unbridled – if not angry – spending on frivolous consumer goods. Take that, Covid!

But a funny thing happened on the way to the market. Rather than wanton capitalism, Americans adopted a practical, thoughtful, compassionate, and risk-averse approach to spending in the coming months, according to a survey we conducted.

“Cautious” consumerism

We asked 500 adults a range of questions about what they were spending money on, if it would be different after Covid, and what impacts the pandemic had on their near-term spending habits. We asked the questions in mid-June, prior to the acceleration of the Delta variant that is now impacting the entire country.