Is ‘doom spending’ making you broke?
We live in an era when we are instantly handed everything we want, to cope with the lack of everything we need. A bad day can end with biryani and ice cream at our doorsteps, moments of boredom and insecurity can be bought off with “cute” and “aesthetic” finds that have no long-term use, and a late-night scroll can send us to concerts and getaways.Going to a store 10 minutes away, or waiting longer than 10 minutes for a delivery, once created friction between our impulse and consumption. Thankfully, quick commerce has spared us that hardship.Meanwhile, secure jobs, affordable homes and financial stability require us to keep pushing Sisyphus’s boulder uphill. This is evident in Deloitte’s 2026 India survey in which 54% of Gen Z respondents say their financial situation forces them to delay major life decisions, while over 60% of Gen Zs and millennials say housing affordability affects their career decisions.A famous saying by Kabir, the revered 15th-century poet-saint, takes on a convenient new meaning in this situation: “Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab” (what you plan for tomorrow, do today; what you plan for today, do now). If the ‘kal’ you are saving for keeps moving further away, why not spend ‘ab’?In Western media and consumer research, this behaviour is being increasingly described as ‘doom spending’, which means spending despite financial worries, often as a way to cope with stress or pessimism about the economy and the future. So, is Indian Gen Z really doom spending, or are we reading doom in every splurge?
‘Doom spending’ vs ‘Retail therapy ’
For Indian Gen Z, ‘doom spending’ is a new term for a very familiar impulse. The phrase echoes ‘doomscrolling’, but swaps the endless scroll for spending. It gained traction in Western consumer-finance conversations around 2023, when Intuit Credit Karma described it as spending despite misgivings about the economy and world affairs to cope with stress. A year later, 37% of Gen Z respondents in its US survey said they doom spent.But what does this ‘doom’ actually look like? When salaries or stipends enter our wallets and accounts, our daily expenses grab their share; and whether we pay rent or live with our parents, inflation, accompanied by a highly unstable job market and cost of living can still make our dream lives look out of reach. That is when the smaller “why nots” begin to replace the bigger “whys” and our expenditure reads ₹350 on food delivery because the day was exhausting, ₹899 on skincare because it has been sitting in our cart for a week, ₹1,499 on clothes because there is a sale, another cab ride because the Metro feels like too much effort. After all, skipping one trip, one meal out or one pair of sneakers is hardly going to buy us the house. So why not enjoy the money now?One might argue that this is nothing different from retail therapy, but it’s important to understand the distinction, as retail therapy is usually triggered by something immediate such as a bad day, a break-up or a bruised ego. We buy something because it makes us feel better for a little while. Research has also linked shopping with a temporary sense of control when people are feeling low.The problem is, these can look exactly the same at checkout. A ₹1,500 order could be a feel-good purchase or the act of breaking the discipline that we tried to follow for a future that looks impossible. While the intentions differ, the debit notification looks exactly the same.
Gen Z vs Millennials
To see whether Gen Z really spends differently from the rest, the comparison has to be fair: today’s twenty-somethings against millennials when they were twenty-somethings too. Comparing a 24-year-old today with a millennial now pushing 40 would be like comparing them with someone who lived in the Stone Age.Looking back at his twenties, a millennial writer recalls dividing his money between present interests and future plans. He spent on hobbies, including cricket bats and equipment, while also putting money aside for things such as trips. The underlying assumption was that some pleasures could be enjoyed immediately, while others were worth saving for.For a millennial banker, spending on herself was far less frequent. Eating out and buying self-care products were occasional treats rather than routine expenses. “There were definitely things I wanted to buy, but my thinking was: I can do all this later when I’m earning better. I would rather save now and enjoy these things when I could afford them without thinking twice.”Some Gen Z earners describe a different way of thinking about money.“I save and invest every month, but I also don’t want my twenties to become just preparation for my thirties,” says a Gen Z software professional. “If I can afford a concert or a weekend trip without going into debt, I would rather experience it now.”For some, the spending is driven more by convenience than indulgence. A Gen Z doctor says, “After a long shift, I’m often too tired to cook, and I’m tempted to take a cab instead of public transport. At that point, saving is usually the last thing on my mind.”Are these choices really about a generational shift, or has the spending environment around young people changed too? Household consumption patterns suggest that what Indians spend on has shifted over the years, with convenience and mobility taking up a different place in the monthly wallet.Has easier access to shopping also changed the way Gen Z spends? Gen Z entered adulthood with shopping already on its phone, and its e-retail behaviour shows a generation comfortable buying frequently across lifestyle, beauty, electronics and fashion.
Between 2011–12 and 2023–24, food took a smaller share of household spending, while processed food, beverages and conveyance gained ground across rural and urban India.
Taken together, the interviews and the graphics point to a more nuanced shift. Millennials recall saving with the belief that there would be time to spend later. Gen Z is saving too, but is also spending more freely on convenience and experiences in the present. In an age of instant purchases and smaller-ticket spending, the concern may be less about the occasional splurge and more about how quickly everyday expenses pile up.
Gen Z now makes up 40–45% of India’s e-retail shoppers and drives nearly half of incremental orders, while spending more heavily in lifestyle, beauty and electronics and choosing lower price points in fashion.
Is Gen Z getting financially cooked?
India’s overall unemployment rate was 3.1% in 2025. For 15–29-year-olds, though, it was much higher at 9.9%. What does that gap look like once you move into the cities? Urban youth unemployment stood at 13.6%, while among young urban women it rose to 18.9%. Does Gen Z feel that uncertainty in everyday life? Deloitte’s 2026 survey suggests it does, with 27% of Indian Gen Z respondents naming unemployment as a top concern.Housing brings in another pressure altogether. Even after finding work, how achievable does owning a home feel? Between January and March 2026, residential property prices rose year-on-year in 44 of the 50 cities tracked by the National Housing Bank; only six saw a decline. Deloitte’s survey adds the personal side of that story: 37% of Indian Gen Z respondents said they could not afford a home. Housing affordability is also beginning to influence decisions beyond where people live, including the careers they choose: more than 60% of Gen Zs and millennials said affordability was influencing their career decisions.Together, these pressures help explain why financial anxiety can persist even when some headline indicators look relatively stable. Gen Z may still be earning, saving and planning ahead, while the goals attached to that planning, secure work and a home of their own, remain difficult to reach.
Doom spending: Therapy or financial red flag?
Can smaller spends lead to larger losses? The answer may lie less in the size of each purchase than in how easily those purchases can be repeated. According to Bain & Company, India’s quick-commerce market reached $10–11 billion in 2025, after doubling annually since 2023.A quick-commerce visit typically lasts under five minutes, compared with more than 10 minutes on traditional e-retail, and is far more likely to end in an order, according to Bain & Company. Smaller packs and lower-value baskets make it easier for ₹200 here or ₹400 there to add up without each purchase feeling significant.A few hundred rupees can still buy dinner, a new shirt or something for the weekend. Against a home or financial security measured in lakhs and crores, the same amount in savings can look much less consequential.For Sharanya Sinha, a student at Unitedworld Institute Of Design (UID) who earns through freelance work and paid internships, the sums she makes now look too small to affect her larger financial goals. “I would say it’s not significant enough to save in a way that would help me in my future. Even if I collectively saved all of that money, it would not really make a dent in my future goals.”Instead, her focus is often on what that money can do now. “So usually, when I get this money, I try to think about how this can help me in the short term.”She still sees this spending as justified. “Just that little bit of instant gratification might seem negative to most people, but I don’t perceive it in that manner. I think it’s important to self-indulge from time to time,” she says.
Is Indian Gen Z really doom spending?
Doom spending suggests a generation choosing the present because the future looks increasingly out of reach. Spending on immediate pleasures, however, does not necessarily mean young people have stopped saving, investing or planning ahead.Beauty gives one glimpse into where Gen Z is spending online. Flipkart’s 2026 data show that Gen Z accounted for nearly 60% of its beauty purchases. Searches for sunscreen for men, facewash for men and hair serum for men were among the emerging trends highlighted by the platform, while men’s grooming, perfumes and premium beauty were also growing strongly.The generation is also showing an interest in building wealth. According to SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025, 66% of Gen Z know about at least one securities-market product, compared with 62% of millennials. Among people planning to enter the securities market, 56% are Gen Z, even though current participation remains slightly lower at 9%, against 11% for millennials.Gen Z also made up 41% of first-time borrowers in the quarter ending December 2024, TransUnion CIBIL found, while credit had reached 16% of the generation. Its financial life, then, includes borrowing, investing and saving alongside spending.Isha Karan, co-founder and clinical psychologist at Oorvai Wellness, says present bias can help explain why planning for the future and spending for the present can coexist. “I think some form of present bias plays a role here. Naturally, when the future feels unpredictable, it becomes harder to emotionally invest in it. Not knowing whether you’ll have the kind of job, income, house or stability you’re working towards, saving for some kind of abstract future can feel less rewarding and motivating than enjoying something immediately.”Social media can further strengthen the appeal of purchases and experiences that provide an immediate sense of reward or validation. Larger goals work differently because jobs, salaries, housing prices, family circumstances and the economy influence whether individual effort eventually produces the desired result.Spending offers a much more predictable outcome. “Here, the link between action and outcome is almost immediate: I choose something, I pay for it and I get it. It’s a straightforward line. This kind of predictability is psychologically rewarding, particularly when other areas of life feel unpredictable,” Karan says.“In this sense, the purchase is not only about the thing being bought. Rather, it restores a small experience of ‘I can make something happen.’”
How can Gen Z protect its peace without ghosting its savings?
Financial anxiety cannot simply be wished away. Karan suggests creating smaller areas where effort leads to a visible result. “If pessimism comes from repeatedly experiencing ‘my effort doesn’t guarantee an outcome,’ then the solution lies in creating smaller areas where effort does reliably lead to an outcome. Something like setting short-term financial goals, building skills, exercising, creating something, or even making a concrete career plan, can help with this.”She also recommends building a greater tolerance for uncertainty. “A lot of impulsive consumption is an attempt to escape the discomfort of not knowing what will happen. Learning to sit with ‘I don’t know yet’ without immediately seeking a reward or distraction is an important psychological skill to be learnt.”Rather than relying on restriction alone, Karan suggests replacing spending with other sources of reward. “There needs to be substitution rather than just restriction. If spending is providing reward, agency and emotional relief, simply saying ‘stop spending’ removes the coping mechanism without replacing it. Finding other immediate but low-cost sources of reward, connection and mastery makes the shift much more sustainable.”In practice, that could mean replacing some expensive impulses with cheaper sources of pleasure, setting short-term savings targets that look achievable, or finding activities that offer a clear sense of progress.The forces behind doom spending are easy to see. The harder question is what happens as the larger doom around us grows. We may not control the next economic shock or the uncertainty it brings, but we can still decide how much of that doom gets to control what we spend. The ephemeral control over the immediate gratification ironically compromises that very control over our finances. The future may keep giving us reasons to worry, but how much of that worry enters our wallets is still up to us.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com