London - From a thumping headache to an argument you wish you hadn’t had, the morning after the night before has never exactly been short of regrets.
Now there’s a new one to add to the list of hangover woes – spending a small fortune on the internet.
One in four Britons has shopped online while they were drunk, a survey has found. The most common purchases made under the influence were concert tickets, unsuitable clothes and even sex toys.
Researchers found 40 percent of these shoppers later regretted what they’d decided to buy after a few pints.
One drunk shopper was left with a £2,048 (about R26 600) bill after mistakenly buying 20 tickets to an Oasis concert at Wembley instead of the two he needed.
Some of the oddest buys included a pair of fake teeth and a 1930s men’s bathing suit.
Thirty-six percent of people now shop on the internet, compared with 32 percent who visit their local high street.
On average, Britons each spend £1,083 a year online, more than those in the US, China or Japan.
But many shoppers come to regret their internet purchases – even the ones made in the cold light of day.
Nearly a quarter of the 2 000 online shoppers surveyed said they returned around one tenth of what they bought, with more than half most regretting buying clothes.
Women were the most likely to impulse buy online. Almost half regretted what they had bought, compared with one third of men.
The survey also revealed that two thirds went over budget while shopping online, spending an average of £528 more each year than if they used the high street.
A spokesman for Broadband Choices, which carried out the study, said: “Post-pub purchases are becoming much more common due to the rising ownership of tablets and smartphones.
“We’re online all the time and can indulge in some retail therapy whenever we like. As online shopping becomes ever more mobile we expect to see a continued rise in this ‘net regret’.” -Daily Mail