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‘Revenge shopping’ is at an all-time high, but what is it?

People across the US are buying whole new wardrobes after a year of wearing nothing but leggings and sweatpants

A woman holding a credit card. (Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.)

After an entire year of spending weekends at home, working from the kitchen counter, and hopping onto Zoom meetings, leggings and sweatpants suddenly took over as the unofficial work-from-home wardrobe. If this sounds like you, then you most likely feel a sudden urge to completely revamp your wardrobe now that COVID-19 vaccines have lessened the fears surrounding COVID-19.

If this all sounds like you, you’re not alone.

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This urge to shop for new clothing post-pandemic is being coined “Revenge shopping,” and it’s affecting more people than you think.

“Revenge shopping” is the idea that people are ready to refresh their wardrobes in order avenge what they were denied in 2020.

Now, many people are ready to spend big bucks to refresh their wardrobes for upcoming vacations and social gatherings.

According to the latest credit card spending data from Tally, in April, retail purchases made up more than a fifth (21.6%) of all purchases.

Clothing retailers also saw the biggest month-over-month increase in spending.

However, financial advisors are now urging people to not go overboard on their clothing spending. “Don’t undo a years-worth of good financial behavior on one shopping spree,” says Bobbi Rebell, a personal finance expert at Tally. “People want to live their lives again and that’s good. But revenge shopping isn’t going to give you back what you’ve lost because of the pandemic. What it will do is damage your bank account.”

Will you be “revenge shopping” anytime soon? We want to hear from you! Comment below or send us your thoughts to nlopezalvar@wplg.com.


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