12 Reasons Online Shopping is Frugal

This is part one of a three-part series.  In part two, I talk about how to overcome the drawbacks of shopping on the Web.  The last article recommends resources for finding product reviews, price comparison sites and reputable retailers.

Since we sold both our cars and moved to New York City, I buy everything online — from groceries to diapers to appliances.

Granted, schlepping small kids and merchandise across Manhattan on public transportation is enough to drive even the most enthusiastic shopper to the annals of Amazon.com. But here are the reasons I’ll stick with it, even after we leave the Big Apple.

If you let your fingers do the shopping, you can:

1. Decrease Impulse Buys

Maybe it’s just me, but walking into a store triggers a little voice in my head that says, “What else do I need?”

Even though shopping can be pleasurable, making the trip is also an inconvenience – thus the rationalization to buy more now to save time and effort later.

The result: I end up buying stuff I didn’t really “need” because I wanted to save myself a future trip (or because it was too disappointing to walk out empty-handed).

2. Reduce Retail Therapy

No wonder shopping has been called our national pastime: it’s an anti-depressant! Studies have shown that not only buying things, but just thinking about buying things, releases feel-good chemicals in our brains.

I’m sure it also has to do with the sensory experience of shopping in stores, how we are wowed by an attractive swirl of color, light and sound.   But if you don’t put yourself in situations where you are tempted by shiny things and upbeat music, you’re less likely to use shopping as a mood-lifter.

And by the way: be proud of yourself next time you resist buying something you coveted. You just conquered Mother Nature!

3. Save Time and Energy

Traveling to and from stores and hauling stuff from store to car and car to house requires both time and effort.  Shopping online eliminates the commute and the schlep.

4.  Shop on Your Own Schedule

Since online stores are open 24 hours a day, you can shop when and where it’s convenient to you — early in the morning, late at night; on your couch or at your desk.

You can even get your shopping started, go do something else, and finish later (something I do with FreshDirect, an online grocery store I hope will spread beyond the New York area.)

Also, when you’re not rushed by schedule constraints, you’re more likely to make rational, well-thought-out decisions about purchases.

5. Enjoy More Peace and Quiet

The superstores of today dazzle us with flashy merchandising. While this amusement park quality is enticing, it creates noise in our lives.

And it’s not just the jangly physical environment, but the inner turmoil.  Shopping in places like Target can be subtly destabilizing.  Our psyches are constantly having to mediate between the forces of desire and prudence.

I find when I don’t expose myself as much to retailers’ cheery persuasion, I tend to rely more on my own instincts. Needs and desires should come from within, not from corporations with billions of dollars of advertising power.

6. Say Good-bye to Begging

If your kids are like mine, they became begging machines as soon as they figured out what happens at stores. If so, then you’ll probably agree that even if you don’t give in to keep them quiet, all the whining can drive you to do some retail therapy yourself!

A few days ago I brought my children to the Rainbow Store (our neighborhood’s version of Target) to get some craft glue. My older daughter became almost rabid with desire to buy something, anything, maybe that Barbie over there.

We give our kids an allowance, so now they have to buy toys with their own money, which has definitely cut down on pleading. But I didn’t like how being in the store:

• created a desire that was not there before
• slowed down our shopping trip
• instigated a public argument between me and my daughter (that lingered all the way home, putting a damper on what had been an enjoyable afternoon)

I think part of the point of allowance is to allow kids to make mistakes with money (now rather than later). If my second-grader still wants to buy that dang Barbie at the end of the week, I’m going to let her in the hopes that she’ll learn her own lessons about spending and saving.

7. Create Fertile Ground for Passions

This is a more subtle side-effect, but I think worth mentioning if you are like me and have used shopping as a time-filler, an anti-depressant or as a form of entertainment.

If we avoid going shopping to chase away the blues, we may be forced to find new ways to satisfy our needs.  We might be more able to identify why we are feeling down (the first step to overcoming whatever is ailing us).  It might be that we come up with an ultimately more fulfilling project, like a hobby, a new friendship, a volunteer commitment, or a part-time job.

Shopping can be like a drug, a temporary distraction from the real issue. And although self-medicating with our wallets might not be as harmful, it is not completely benign either. Overspending can derail our attempts to save for a higher goal, create clutter and confusion in our households, and cause friction in relationships.

8. Avoid Getting Roped into Marketing Ploys

One of the sales pitches I often get in stores is the store credit-card application. By signing up, you usually get an immediate 10% discount on your purchase, and if you are making a big one, it kind-of seems worth it.

People will probably disagree with me on this, but I stand firmly in the camp of “not worth it,” and this is why:

• Even if I sign up with the intention of canceling immediately, it can be difficult, irritating and time-consuming to cancel (not to mention wasteful of other people’s resources and time).
• My life gets cluttered with more bills, credit cards and junk mail (since my address is often sold to other companies).
• Signing up for too many credit cards can hurt my credit rating.
• Special sales and offers for members only might convince me to buy something I don’t really need.

Has anyone else noticed that retailers are getting more aggressive? I went to Baby Gap recently to get some shoes for my son (too bad hand-me-downs arrived a few days later), and I was practically harassed by the salesgirl to sign up for the GapCard. She pressured me with a long list of benefits not once, not twice, but three times before finally giving up.

9.  Find the Lowest Price Possible

In the old days, you would have to drive to a bunch of stores or call each of them up and wait for the salesperson to physically check the price in question.  With the internet, comparison shopping is easy, quick and painless.  And since prices can vary widely from store to store, as this post at Get Rich Slowly notes, you can save a lot by taking a few extra minutes to do the research.

10. Expand Your Choices Exponentially

The reason I started buying online in the first place is the vast selection. If you go to a store, you have access to that store’s inventory only. If you shop on the internet, you can choose from thousands of retailers and products.

While this might seem overwhelming at first, you often end up learning more about the product in question and therefore understanding more exactly what you want, resulting in a more educated purchasing decision (which in turn leads to less waste).

11.  Avoid the Pitfalls of “Out of Stock”

I hate going all the way to a store and finding they’re out of the thing I wanted. At best, I walk out of the store with nothing (very hard to do). At worst, I end up with something secondary in quality or purpose, or something that wasn’t on my list at all.

If an online retailer is out of something (which is pretty rare), you have many other places to go with the click of a mouse.

12.  Find the Highest-Quality Products

If you do research online (I’ll talk about that in part 3 of this series), you can read reviews, see product tests, watch videos, and browse consumer ratings — all before pulling out your credit card.  Making educated decisions — and buying things that are proven to be well-made — can save you lots of money and frustration (and save the earth in the process).

Where do you stand on shopping:    in-person or online?

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You also might like:

1. How to Conquer the Downsides of Online Shopping
2. 10 Ways to Save Money Shopping Online
3. 3 Simple Ways to Get a Discount When Buying Gifts Online
4. 17 Reasons Why Planning Your Grocery Trips Will Save You Money
5. How Online Research Can Pay Off Big Time