Gin Drinkers Lead The Pack In Drunk Online Shopping

Hey, it's Friday night! You've had a few drinks, and had a pretty good time. You get home and see what's up online. Maybe on Amazon. Maybe that limited edition box set you've had your eye on, or an inflatable pool in case you ever get a house with a backyard. Your defenses are down, your impulse levels are up, and you wake up the next morning looking at your credit-card bill and wondering what the hell happened.

You, friend, are not alone: Turns out Americans are not only drinking more, but are finding that they need the additional solace of retail therapy in addition to alcohol. NBC News reports that according to a study by Finder, Americans are spending almost twice as much as they did last year on drunken late-night purchases: to the tune of $30 billion online, or about $450 per person. According to Finder's survey of 2,000 people, "Nearly half of American adults (46 percent) who drink alcohol regularly admit to making a purchase while under the influence—an estimated 68 million people."

The rehab facility Archstone Recovery Center then "surveyed 1,000 men and women across the country and asked them to come clean about their booze-soaked Amazon purchases." The breakdowns are kind of fascinating. Let's start with time:

People spent 30 percent more when shopping after midnight on a Friday versus on a Monday; by 1 a.m., that jumps to 40 percent. People tend to buy fun or luxury items, and are willing to pay more for them: Friday-night purchases of lingerie average $308, or 140 percent higher than they are on Monday nights.

But you can also break it down by the kind of alcohol these late-night shoppers are drinking.

Gin drinkers tended to splurge the most, spending an average of more than $82. Even whiskey drinkers, the most frugal group when classified by type of alcohol, wound up spending almost $40. (Beer drinkers were the only other group to spend less than $40, and people drinking red or white wine spent about $42 and $46, respectively.)

You can even discover people's most regrettable late-night drunken purchases (cell phones and accessories) and most enjoyable (musical instruments). Weirdest late-night buys include a hydroponic soil grow tent, a drum full of clear lubricant, and a coffee enema. Even though you may eventually learn to love that vintage guitar your drunk self just bought, you may just want to stick to rants on Twitter instead of hurling your credit-card number after you've had a few—at least Twitter is free.