Tipflation

An "Add a tip" screen after paying for a US$3.85 coffee, with suggested gratuity amounts of $1 (26%), $2 (51.9%), and $3 (77.9%)

Tipflation and tip creep are terms to describe the United States' recent widespread expansion of gratuity to more industries, as opposed to being traditionally only prevalent in full-service restaurants. Tipflation's origins are likely the COVID-19 pandemic and the inflation surge which began in 2021. Touch-screen digital payment systems run by companies like Clover and Square include gratuity prompts that are often visible to nearby members of the public and the service worker. The social pressure created from such systems is often separately mentioned as guilt-tipping, and tipflation has also been seen as causing tipping fatigue, which is the resentment that American consumers generally feel from tipping culture.