Finder’s data is based on an online survey of 1,800 U.S. adults born between 1928 and 2002 commissioned by Finder and conducted by Pureprofile in September 2020. Participants were paid volunteers.
We assume the participants in our survey represent the US population of 254.7 million Americans who are at least 18 years old according to the July 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimate. This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2.32% margin of error.
The survey asked people whether they made a purchase while under the influence of alcohol in the last 12 months and asked them to select the categories they purchased in and the amount they spent.
Purchase categories were Shoes, clothes, or accessories; Gambling; Cigarettes; DVD, movies, or streaming service; Tech products; Narcotics or other drugs; Music; Artwork, Vacation; Pet; Furniture; Car; Motorbike; Food; and Other. Unlike previous years, we did not include “More alcohol” as a purchase category this year.
Average calculations of the amount spent on drunken purchase were based on only the participants who reported spending in a category — for example, to calculate the average amount spent on food while drunk, respondents who indicated that they have not made any drunk purchases in the past 12 months, and those who responded “0” (meaning they did not make a drunk purchase on food but did make a drunk purchase in another category) were not included.
Our calculations were weighted for age and gender.
To avoid skewing the data, we did not include extreme outliers in our calculations.
We define generations by birth year according to the Pew Research Center’s generational guidelines:
- Gen Z — 1997-2002
- Millennials — 1981-1996
- Gen X — 1965-1980
- Baby boomers — 1946-1964
- Silent generation — 1928-1945
We define geographical regions according to the divisions of the U.S. Census Bureau.
