Survey: Shopping Improves Mood of Americans during Pandemic

Category: Lifestyle/Entertainment

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. impulse buying / ˈɪm pʌls ˈbaɪɪŋ / (n) – the act of buying something in an unplanned and sudden way
    Example:

    I decided to set a weekly budget so I can avoid impulse buying.


  2. turn (something) around / tɜrn əˈraʊnd / (idiom) – to cause something to change in a positive way
    Example:

    Our team performed badly last quarter, but we’ve recently been able to turn our sales around.


  3. splurge / splɜrdʒ / (v) – to spend a lot of money on something
    Example:

    The boy splurged on first-edition comic books.


  4. uncertainty / ʌnˈsɜr tn ti / (n) – the state of being unsure
    Example:

    A lot of employees are worried because of uncertainty about their jobs.


  5. normalize / ˈnɔr məˌlaɪz / (v) – to return to a previous or usual state
    Example:

    It took several months before the country’s economy normalized.


Article

Read the text below.

According to a recent survey, shopping is improving the mood of most Americans during the Covid-19 pandemic.


Shopping platform Slickdeals partnered with research company OnePoll to do a survey of 2,000 Americans last April. Participants were asked how the recent health crisis affected their shopping habits.


Results showed that impulse buying online during the pandemic resulted in a positive mood for 72% of the respondents. Additionally, 65% of the participants said that buying something on impulse can turn a bad day around.


Since the start of the pandemic, 46% of the respondents have bought groceries online for the first time.


Based on the findings, cleaning supplies, followed by hand soap, detergent, and toilet paper, are the top items that Americans have bought impulsively. Around 18% of the respondents have also splurged on home improvement items. Other things people spent their money on were books, video game consoles, clothes, and shoes.


The survey results also revealed that many Americans consider impulse buying as a way to save money. According to the data, more than half of the respondents buy impulsively to take advantage of a deal.


Josh Meyers, the CEO of Slickdeals, agrees that taking advantage of online shopping deals for essential items is actually a good way to save money. He also believes that it is a useful strategy during times of uncertainty like the Covid-19 pandemic.


More than half of the respondents said that they intend to continue doing online shopping even when the situation normalizes. This means that consumer shopping habits will remain changed even when the health crisis ends.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you think that the pandemic will permanently change people’s shopping habits? Why or why not?
• Should people splurge on things during times of uncertainty? Explain.

Discussion B

• Do you agree that impulse buying can turn a bad day around? Why or why not?
• What other activities can turn a bad day around? Discuss.