Research Note
5 min read27 February 2026Why SpendLens exists
SpendLens was created to study spending choices through behaviour, not just self-reported survey answers.
The research problem
Traditional surveys capture what people say they do with money. They are far less reliable at capturing what people actually choose under pressure.
SpendLens was built to create a controlled but engaging decision environment where budget, trade-offs, and temptation all show up together.
Why a simulator instead of a questionnaire
- It captures revealed preferences rather than idealised answers
- It introduces constraint, sequence, and trade-off in a way surveys usually cannot
- It creates richer behavioural traces for later analysis
The intended outcome
The aim is not to judge participants. The aim is to observe patterns in how income level, lifestyle pressure, and prompts shape spending behaviour.