Arguably one of the best uses for the Internet: online shopping. We all do it. Even if you’re not a shopper, you know you browse the Internet looking at gadgets, gizmos or my personal favorite, clothes. Sure, you can’t try it on as you find it, but that’s part of the excitement, right? You order something, then a few days later you get a package with your new wardrobe items that you can try on in the comfort of your own home … what could be better (besides free shipping)? As an online shopper, you are probably all too familiar with the following stages we all fall prey to while "browsing."
1. “I’ll just browse.”
The first stage of online shopping starts with boredom or procrastination. You have nothing to do or don’t like what you’re doing, so you decide to just browse. You type in a few of your favorite websites and start searching, but you promise yourself it’s just to look.
2. “This is so cute! I have to have it!”
What’s the harm in just buying one item? You decide you should treat yourself and get it. You’re already thinking of an event you can wear it for, so the purchase is obviously justified. You tell yourself that you’re not going to get anything else, but you just want to look a liiiiiitle bit more.
3. “I’m just going to look at my cart … OMG all of this is how much money?”
One thing led to another, and suddenly you have 10 items in your cart instead of just the one. You start to go through and sort out what you don’t really want, but then you somehow still have eight items.
4. “Maybe there are coupons!”
You realize you have a ridiculously high total, so there have to be coupons, right? You open up another tab and start googling “name of store coupons.” Retail Me Not, Groupon, Coupon Cabin, the list goes on, and you check them all. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a percentage off or dollar amount off, so you enter the code, and since you got a discount, you’re getting a good deal on all eight articles of clothing, or at least you tell yourself that.
5. “Shipping is how much?”
You start to check out after entering your coupon code and coping with the total amount, but then you see the shipping price. You then notice that you’re only 12 dollars away from free shipping, so you may as well add back in one of the two items you deleted earlier; anything for free shipping.
6. “Honestly, who let me online shop?”
You place your order and realize you just spent an unnecessary amount of money on clothes that you don’t even know what will actually look like on, but hey, like I said earlier, it’s half of the excitement. You promise yourself you won’t be online shopping again anytime soon though, and by soon you obviously mean you’ll wait until tomorrow’s procrastination sets in.
7. “I’m so excited!”
You have wasted time shopped, spent too much money placed your order and now you wait three to five business days for your new wardrobe items to come in, all the while praying they’ll fit.
Remember, it's always shop o'clock somewhere, and the online stores (websites) never close, so happy shopping!
