1. STUDY: Impulse buying driven by feelings
Even though American consumers are feeling a financial crunch in their wallets, that’s not stopping many from buying on impulse, according to a new study. Fifty-three percent of consumers surveyed by PartnerCentric said their overall budget is tighter in 2026 than in 2025. But 81% of consumers said they have made an impulse purchase so far in 2026. The average number of impulse buys was seven, with the median spend being $50 per purchase. The average spent on a single largest impulse buy was $355.
“The consumer economy is in a weird place right now. A majority of consumers say their budgets are tighter this year, and yet they’re still buying beyond necessities,” Stephanie Harris, founder and CEO of PartnerCentric, told USA TODAY.
“In fact, Gen Z and millennials are most likely to report making impulse purchases in 2026, at 86% and 85%,” she said. “What’s driving it isn’t just need. It’s emotion and the desire for a small reward when life feels expensive and high pressure.”
What did people buy on impulse? The top category for impulse purchase was food or beverages at 54% while clothing came in second (53%), electronics came in at 35% and shoes or accessories at 26%.
Read the full story at marconews.com. Click on “3 To Know” and follow the link. – Betty Lin-Fisher/USA TODAY
2. POWERFUL EL NIÑO MAY RESHAPE WEATHER: Forecasts raise alarms for ‘quite a strong event’
Weeks after the Pacific Ocean engine that helps drive the world’s weather shifted into neutral, meteorologists and scientists are now laser focused on the developing signals of its warm phase: El Niño.
Virtually all of the models show an El Niño forming in the weeks ahead, and the median estimate across them is for “quite a strong event,” said Zeke Hausfather, director of climate and energy at the Breakthrough Institute and a research scientist with Berkeley Earth. “This would put us on track to have an event that is among the strongest El Niños seen in recent history, though it is too early to know with much certainty.”
The prospect of a strong El Niño raises fears of additional heat, including marine heat waves, piling on top of long-term climate warming, given its expected arrival at a time when temperatures already have been warmer than normal.
El Niños have fueled wildfires and caused extreme flooding and megadroughts. They have prompted widespread coral bleaching and disrupted marine life migrations and foraging.
One notable effect of El Niño is a tendency to decrease tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean. A shift in the path of the jet stream over the United States can spawn downdrafts and sinking winds that have been known to suppress – but not eliminate – hurricane activity.
Read the full story at marconews.com. Click on “3 To Know” and follow the link. – Dinah Voyles Pulver/USA TODAY
3. READ MORE: Online now at marconews.com
If you missed Friday’s Marco Eagle, you can read those stories online now at marconews.com or click on the eNewspaper and read it and other past issues online, just as they appear in print.
Friday’s articles include:
Also, when you click on 3 To Know or 3 To Do, we have helpful links that expand on the topics discussed. The SWFLA To Do List has events listed far in advance of those in print, so that you can plan ahead. There are also stories of interest from around the region and around the state. And no subscription is required.
Read more at marconews.com.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: 3 To Know: Study on impulse buying; the science of El Niño; more
Reporting by Marco Eagle / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
