Tipflation Is An Expensive Thing

A survey of 2-thousand U.S. adults looks at how much “tipflation” is costing us and finds:

• The average American reluctantly tips $37.80 in a month because of the pressure or awkwardness of the options given to them.
• That adds up to $453.60 in guilt tipping over a year.
• Respondents tipped more than they want to six times in the last month, on average.

• 49% have noticed the options for tipping on tablets and digital devices increase. in 2022 it was 15%, 2023 it was 18, and today it's 2024.
• Almost a third (31%) say they’ve been asked to tip for a service they wouldn’t normally have considered tipping for in the last few weeks.
• Gen Z (16%) and millennials (16%) are almost twice as likely to say they “always” feel pressure to tip than Gen X (9%) and only 5% of baby boomers feel that constant tipping obligation.
• When buying something in a store, a third (33%) of both Gen Z and millennials always or often feel pressure or are made to feel guilty when tipping, compared to 23% of Gen Xers and 13% of baby boomers.
• But about a quarter (23%) of all respondents say they’d likely leave a tip for a service that had no human interaction, like a vending machine or a self-checkout kiosk.