How do women really make purchase decisions?

We're building a tool that helps women spend with more intention and less regret. Before we build, we want to understand. This survey is anonymous, takes about 7 minutes, and will directly shape what the digital tool becomes. ✦ Anonymous ✦ 7 minutes ✦ No right answers

SECTION A - About You

No identifying information — just enough context to understand who's answering.

What's your age range?

A

18–22

B

23–26

C

27–30

D

31–35

E

36+

How do you typically describe your relationship with spending?

Pick the one that fits most honestly - there's no good or bad answer here.

How do you typically describe your relationship with spending?

A

I'm generally intentional - I think before I buy

B

Sometimes intentional, sometimes impulsive depending on my mood

C

I buy on impulse more than I'd like to admit

D

Spending makes me anxious - I second-guess most purchases

E

Spending is often emotional for me - connected to how I'm feeling

Roughly how often do you experience buyer's remorse?

A

Rarely - I usually feel good about what I buy

B

Occasionally - maybe once a month or so

C

Often - it's a regular part of my shopping experience

D

Very often - I regret a significant portion of my purchases

What is your approximate annual income?

This helps us understand whether spending psychology and regret differ across financial realities. Anonymous and judgment-free.

What is your approximate annual income?

A

Under $30,000

B

$30,000 – $50,000

C

$50,000 – $75,000

D

$75,000 – $100,000

E

$100,000 – $150,000

F

Over $150,000

G

Prefer not to say

SECTION B — The Five Pillars: Validation

This digital tool's evaluation uses five factors to generate a score. We want to know how much each one actually matters to you in practice.

How to read these questions: Think about a purchase you regretted in the last 6 months. How important was each factor in whether you ended up regretting it?

Does this actually belong in my life right now?" - Identity

Whether the purchase felt aligned with who you are your values, your lifestyle, the person you're intentionally becoming.

"Will this still matter to me in three months?" - Longevity

Whether the desire felt lasting or fleeting - whether you'd been thinking about it for a while or it arrived suddenly.

Is what I'm giving proportionate to what I'll receive?" - Investment Integrity

Whether the price felt fair relative to the value considering not just money but time, opportunity cost, and what else that money could do.

Will this genuinely add value to my life?" - Life Impact

Whether the purchase made something meaningfully better not just enjoyable in the moment, but genuinely useful or enriching over time.

Am I grounded right now, or am I filling something?" - Emotional State

Whether your emotional state at the time, stress, boredom, excitement, sadness, played a role in the decision and ultimately the regret.

SECTION C - The Three Gaps: Do They Predict Regret?

These three factors aren't currently in the digital tool. We want to know whether they should be.

Have you ever bought something purely for pleasure, not because you needed it and been genuinely glad you did?

Think: a beautiful candle, a book you didn't need, an expensive coffee, something indulgent that brought real joy even though it wasn't "necessary."

Have you ever bought something purely for pleasure, not because you needed it and been genuinely glad you did?

A

Yes, often - pleasure purchases often bring genuine value to my life

B

Yes, sometimes - it depends on the purchase and my mood

C

Rarely - I usually feel guilt rather than satisfaction after pleasure purchases

D

No - I can't separate pleasure from guilt when buying things I don't need

When you regret a pleasure purchase, what's the feeling that's actually underneath it?

Select all that apply.

When you regret a pleasure purchase, what's the feeling that's actually underneath it?

A

It felt wasteful - the money could have gone somewhere better

B

I was using the purchase to manage how I was feeling

C

The pleasure I expected didn't arrive the way I thought it would

D

It didn't feel like "me" - it belonged to a different version of myself

E

I bought it because of outside pressure - a trend, a sale, someone else's opinion

F

I rarely regret pure pleasure purchases - joy is reason enough

How much does outside influence, social media, trends, what other people have, drive purchases you later regret?

Be honest. This is one of the most common hidden drivers of regret and one of the least talked about.

How much does outside influence, social media, trends, what other people have, drive purchases you later regret?

Think about purchases you've made because of a sale, a limited-time offer, or a "last one left" signal. How often does that urgency create regret?

A Black Friday purchase, a flash sale, an "only 2 left" notification. The question is whether the urgency changes the outcome - not whether you got a good deal.

Think about purchases you've made because of a sale, a limited-time offer, or a "last one left" signal. How often does that urgency create regret?

A

I rarely regret sale purchases - a good deal is a good deal

B

Sometimes - the urgency makes me buy things I wouldn't have otherwise

C

Often - sale pressure is one of my biggest triggers for regret

D

Almost always - I know I'm being manipulated but I buy anyway

If a purchase evaluation tool flagged "this decision is being accelerated by a sale or urgency signal" - would that change how you approached the decision?

A

Yes - that's exactly the kind of reality check I need in those moments

B

Probably - I'd find it useful even if I didn't always act on it

C

Not sure - I'm already aware of it but buy anyway

D

No - knowing it's a sale doesn't change how I feel about wanting it

SECTION D - In Your Own Words

These are the questions no survey answer can capture. Your answers here will directly shape the product.

Think of a purchase you regret. What was the real reason, the honest one you'd only tell a close friend?

Not the surface reason. The thing underneath it.

What does a "good" purchase feel like to you? How do you know, in the moment or afterwards, that you made the right call?

This is about what confidence feels like - not what it looks like.

Is there anything about how you make purchase decisions that you don't think we've asked about?

Anything at all, a factor, a feeling, a situation. If something came to mind while answering, this is where to put it.

Thank you for your honesty.

Your answers are anonymous and will be used only to shape the digital tool. What you shared here will directly influence which questions it asks, what factors it weighs, and what it gets right for women like you.