Survey Shows ‘Tipflation’ Affecting Americans’ Wallets

Americans are not only suffering from “Bidenflation” but from “tipflation” as well, an April survey from Talker Research found.

The survey found that Americans are tipping more than they want to for various reasons, including the pressure of potentially awkward social situations. That includes the swiveled tablet and waiters and waitresses sometimes bringing the card reader to the restaurant table.

According to the results, the average respondent “reluctantly tips $37.80 a month due to the pressure or awkwardness of the options presented to them.” Most, 56 percent, feel that they are routinely feeling a “higher pressure” to tip.

Per Talker Research:

That figure equates to $453.60 a year in guilt-induced gratuity, with over a quarter (26%) feeling they are always or often forced to tip more than they would like.

The survey found the average respondent tipped more than they’d like to on six occasions (6.3) in the last 30 days alone.

In addition to the pressure, nearly one-third of those surveyed, 31 percent, believe they had been asked to tip for a service “they wouldn’t normally have considered tipping for in recent weeks.”

The data also found that younger generations — Gen Z and Millennials — are more susceptible to feeling the pressure of tipping more than they would like. Further, nearly one quarter across the board, 23 percent, said they would “likely” tip for a service that did not require human interaction, showing that this is becoming more ingrained.

The survey was taken April 3-8, 2024, among 2,000 Americans. It has a +/- 2.2 percent margin of error.

These findings coincide with the reality that in President Joe Biden’s America Gen Z is struggling with lower income and higher debt-to-income ratios than Millennials had at their age.

Breitbart News reported:

The study found that Millennials during the last half of 2013, or Quarter 4 (Q4) were making an income of around $39,394. When adjusted for inflation, the income Millennials were making at that time came out to $51,852. This is compared to Gen Z adults during 2023’s Q4 who were making an income of $45,493.

During 2013’s Q4, Millennials were found to have a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of 11.76 percent, while Gen Z adults had a DTI ratio of 16.05 percent during 2023’s Q4, according to the data.

…

TransUnion’s survey also found that Millennials had an average credit card balance of $1,708, which when adjusted for inflation was $2,248. During 2023’s Q4, Gen Z adults had an average credit card balance of $2,834.

All the while, inflation continues to soar. According to Breitbart Business Digest, the “most recent consumer price index (CPI) reports have shown inflation accelerating at an alarming pace” — bad news for Biden as the presidential election draws closer.

Breitbart News’s economics editor John Carney reported:

In December, inflation rose at an annualized rate of 2.8 percent. In January, this accelerated to 3.7 percent. In February, we hit 5.4 percent. In March, the latest figure available, the consumer price index climbed at an annualized rate of 4.6 percent.

Economists like to tell us that we should look beyond the monthly figures to discern underlying trends. Unfortunately, the news here is not much better. The three-month annualized increase in CPI was 4.6 percent in March, and the six-month was 3.2 percent, a clear sign that the trend is for more inflation. Core inflation’s three-month annualized figure is only slightly lower at 4.5 percent, while the six-month average is 3.9 percent.

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