Doomsday prepping goes mainstream: ‘Bug out bags’ fly off shelves as a third of Americans admit to buying survival kits amid Armageddon fears

A survey found that Americans spent a whopping $11 billion on survival items in just one year, while a third admitted they had prepared for doomsday.

The average prepper spent $149 on supplies in the year to April 2023, with the most common items being food and water, toilet paper, medical supplies and survival kits, according to Finder.

Finder surveyed 2,179 people and the third who said they were preparing for the end of the world was a jump from the 20 percent who admitted to taking precautions in 2020.

However, the image of what an end-of-the-world disaster preparer looks like has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic sent essential supplies flying off the shelves and created a plethora of natural disasters.

About 40 percent of Gen Z said they spend money on doomsday necessities, narrowly beating millennials at 39 percent.

Alexjandria Edwards, 28, keeps a bug-out bag in her New York City apartment after seeing emergency preparedness videos on social media.

A recent survey found that a third of Americans have admitted to spending money preparing for doomsday

“It’s actually for a family of four, but I thought, ‘You know what? It’s better to be safe,” she said of her bag. The Wall Street Journal.

Companies that specialize in making prep kits have seen increased sales and increased popularity over the years.

Brands Preppi and Judy, which are included in Oprah’s Favorite Things list, offer basic kits starting at around $100 to ultra-advanced kits worth thousands.

“At the core of every Preppi kit is a three-day, military-grade food and water supply with a five-year shelf life, as outlined by survival experts and government agencies,” according to Preppi’s website.

Preppi reported a 29% increase in sales over 2022 and Judy said their sales quadrupled in June as bushfire smoke blanketed the North East.

Preppi, a popular emergency kit brand, reported a 29% increase in sales from 2022

Judy, which is on Oprah’s Favorite Things list, said their sales quadrupled in June as wildfire smoke blanketed the Northeast.

John Ramey, founder of the self-reliance training site The Prepared, told the WSJ that his audience is becoming increasingly diverse.

“People are becoming more aware of the problems in the world and how fallible things are,” he said.

Just weeks ago, New York City was hit by flooding that reached the city’s wettest day on record. It canceled flights, closed the subway and flooded cars in the city.

Hawaii’s August wildfires became the deadliest in U.S. history, killing 96 and displacing thousands.

California has seen an increase in earthquakes, with a swarm hitting Southern California in April this year.

One shook the Salton Sea region, located south of Joshua Tree, registering a magnitude of 4.5.