Creative agency BBH USA, in collaboration with the nonprofit Understood.org, today (4/22) released the second installment of its Silent Spenders ethnographic research. This series is dedicated to uncovering the economic power of understudied, high-value audiences that brands often miss. This time around, the study focuses on consumers with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), the most common form of neurodivergence in the U.S.
ADHD is a common condition that’s caused by differences in the brain. People with ADHD can have trouble with executive function, a group of key skills that help people focus, organize, plan, and manage emotions.
The research challenges the pervasive stereotype that ADHD consumers are impulsive or chaotic spenders. Instead, the data reveals a confidently cautious and discerning audience that researches heavily, judges brands fast, avoids high-risk activities like investing, and rewards frictionless experiences with intense loyalty.
Key Findings from “Silent Spenders 2.0”
The study identifies six critical shifts in understanding the ADHD consumer journey:
–From Unpredictable Spenders to Loyalists: While perceived as unpredictable, adults with ADHD actually become deeply loyal. When they find a brand they like, 90% stay with it to eliminate the cognitive burden of researching and starting new habits.
–Convenience as Currency: Because time management is often challenging for this audience, they’re twice as likely as neurotypical consumers to pay for efficiency, such as skipping a 30-minute line.
–Urgency Alienates: Traditional marketing tactics like “buy now” pressure and scarcity framing often backfire, triggering anxiety that kills the sale rather than motivating it. Sales and limited-time offers (LTOs) are one-third less likely to influence a purchase.
–The Danger of Beige: For this audience, color and pattern are essential tools for communication. Brands with bold, vibrant colors are twice as likely to make a lasting impression. A bland brand is an inaccessible one.
–Translators Over Creators: Consumers are looking for credible, diagnosed ADHD creators who can translate a brand’s proposition into relevant, lived-experience terms. Only 20% of ADHD consumers feel that brands fully understand and serve their needs.
–Universal Design: Designing for the ADHD brain—which can be more sensitive to friction—improves the consumer journey for everyone. ADHD consumers are 50% more likely than neurotypical shoppers to abandon a cart if a website is difficult to navigate.
“Our Silent Spenders 2.0 research reveals that adults with ADHD are a massive consumer group that is often overlooked by marketers,” said Samantha Deevy, chief strategy officer at BBH USA. “The takeaway is clear: Design your brands, products, and experiences well for those with ADHD and design them better for everyone.”
“When you solve for the specific friction points of the ADHD brain, you’re actually optimizing for the modern consumer’s limited attention span,” said Dr. Andrew Kahn, psychologist and associate director of behavior change and expertise at Understood.org. “Designing with neurological respect helps brands move past superficial engagement and create impactful experiences. What begins as a thoughtful accommodation for one group inevitably becomes the gold standard for the entire audience.”
