What are Americans willing to give up? Booze tops the list
The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.
Why we asked about giving things up: We’ve recently rolled out of Dry January and now slid right into Lent. Is anyone giving up anything these days?
What we found: About four in ten (38%) said they gave up something during the past year, whether for religious reasons or Dry January, etc. That’s down slightly from last year (43%). (Side note, last year Lent started in March, but we also asked the question last year during Lent.) One in five gave up something for religious reasons, with not a lot of variation by demographics. More (29%) gave something up “just because.” Of those who gave something up, alcohol topped the list, with 38% saying they stopped drinking at some point. This is clearly more of a thing than just Dry January, which only 15% said they participated in. Sweets and soda popped next, at 30% and 27% respectively (see what I did there). Then dining out (28%), which is a thing people are cutting back on for economic reasons too. Then smoking/vaping (22%) and sex and meat, tied at 21%.
More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:
More Americans are feeling ‘comfortable’ economically, as fewer believe prices have risen
Americans have mixed and contradictory views on obesity
Most Americans drink caffeine daily, but it’s not just coffee
The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?
