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Are You A Big Spender or a Cheapskate?
Do you freak out at spending $5 more than you have to? What about a price change at your favorite store – does that bug you? How about books that used to be $6.99 and that are now over $12? Here’s an example: the price of coffee. It was $6.99 a can last week – now it’s $8.99? You think to yourself, “That’s crazy!”
And then you turn around and plunk down $35 online for that newly launched ebook without even blinking or $97 for the big course everyone’s talking about. Maybe you make a donation for someone’s busted windshield or saving the whales while grumbling at Girl Guides over a $4 for a box of crappy-tasting cookies.
Money flies out of your pocket online, and you don’t mind at all. But when it’s in real life… Woo. Hang on a second.
It doesn’t seem to make sense, and yet this phenomena is something I’ve noted lately. People tend to disregard value of spending online while feeling concern over real-world prices. It’s tough to part with money when you’re standing in Wal-Mart, but in the virtual world, cash isn’t an issue.
I’ve found myself cringing over paying $24.99 for a new toy and then sending $500 through PayPal without even blinking. I’ve held back on buying a bigger monitor or a Mac, but I’ve spent $300 on books at Amazon in just minutes.
I don’t understand it. What makes it so easy to spend money online? What makes it so hard to do the same when we’re in a store?
Some say it’s easy to buy on the internet. Click a button, stick in your credit card information or use PayPal and away you go. I agree; ease of spending makes it a no-brainer to part with cash.
And yet, it’s just as easy to spend money in a store: One swipe of the card, and you walk off with whatever you want.
So making it easy to buy isn’t the reason. What is? What makes it so negligible for us to empty our wallets while we’re at the computer but so critical of pricing when we’re in the store checking price tags?
Compelling content, others say. Persuasive words and influential marketing make us buyers in a snap. We get lulled, wooed and scared into making purchases on the internet that maybe we should think twice about first.
But then, I look around stores that apply plenty of persuasive techniques and sales strategies, and I see just as many there. So that’s not the reason…
Social proof, maybe. We hang with crowds on the internet that spend money easily, so we learn that virtual-world spending is something we should do as well.
But then we see people in stores making purchases and don’t really feel that we need to buy what they do or spend in the same ways.
So I’m puzzled. I can’t put my finger on this huge difference between online spending and offline spending. Can you?
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James,
I see the solution quite clearly.
Buy your Mac online.
Ahem! Sorry.
No, I know what you mean, and I’ve seen it, too. I think it’s like the difference between having green in your hand or a card: the cash slows your spending because it feels more real.
Now, credit and debit cards have become more commonplace. They feel like almost-real money, compared to clicking buttons on a screen. It’s being detached, both physically—nothing to hand over, no need to whip out the wallet—and mentally from the process, that’s creating that split.
Having said that… oooh, I should go on an amazon spree. Hehehehe.
Regards,
Kelly
Kelly´s last blog post…Inspiration Points: The Brick & Mortars Our Nations Are Built On
Ok, so I walk into a shop, I pick up a magazine and take a few flicks through the pages, put it down, move on to another area. I’m unsure what I’m looking for in this particular store. I carry on browsing… success, I find a product I know I need, in this instance a new kettle. I take a look at the kettle(s) they have in stock, I like the look of a few of them. All of them serve one purpose right, to boil water? I don’t want it to do anything else… I just want a cup of coffee in the morning and a few in the evening. So I’m basing my decision on looks and a few specific features that give me the benefit of saved time (water boiling speed) and looks, does it go with my other appliances?
I decide not to buy the kettle’s in the shop. Why? Because I can’t make my mind up. I don’t have the information I need to hand to make an informed decision as I hadn’t consciously decided when I went out that I was actually shopping for a kettle.
I get home, I take a look online, I google for reviews and what people say… is it reliable? what’s the water boiling speed? What does it look like? All the information I need at my finger tips. I click on a few recommended links to buy said kettle. Ah, the kettle I saw in the store that I liked the look of is there, it’s got moderate to good reviews, and it’s cheaper to boot. I add it to the cart and I pay, I’m not desperate for it as I have a spare (rubbish, but still spare) to use in the meantime.
In short, I will buy from the shops if I need it now! I will buy online in all other instances where I can wait a day for delivery.
There are instances where I look at it the other way round, I wouldn’t dream of purchasing clothes on the net. I’ll take a look first, sure, but I’ll almost certainly arrange to pop down to the stores at the weekend or the likes to buy them.
I do think for some people, shopping online is a novelty. Never before have they had so much spending power at their fingertips without moving a muscle. The fact that they can do this probably makes them far more susceptible to spending than if they were trawling through shop after shop in a crowded high street.
Agghhh… Kelly beat me!
Plastic isn’t real money. Cash is. Easy.
If you swap to paying everything with cash you’ll start being a lot more careful. If you have to go and actually deposit the money in a bank account before you can use Paypal – you’ll think about it more.
Totally with Kelly on the detachment from money. It’s also as Tei said in her first post, it doesn’t seem real until you start placing value on fruit.
Teaching kids the value of money in a virtual world, where bank accounts are on a screen, ebay is there, Paypal, Amazon – it’s so hard for them to see the connection between the work they do, the money they receive and the things they buy.
I have a huge Amazon addiction too. Should go and buy shares in Amazon!
Melinda´s last blog post…Free Blogathon April 2009 – Come Join Us!
David is right…most of the time that I don’t buy something at a store is because I don’t have enough information. I want Amazon reviews and I want to spend a few minutes doing more research.
However, there are also times when I realize what I’m buying and actually holding it in my hand takes away the mystery. I know what I’m buying and I realize I don’t really need it after all. That doesn’t happen online until I’ve already made the purchase.
Nathan Hangen´s last blog post…5 New Bloggers for Your RSS Reader
Mmmm…. Here’s an example of what puzzles me:
My daughter wants Thumbelina something or other. There are two options. Thumbelina X at $19.84 and Thumbelina Y at $17.84.
I tried to convince her to get the one at $17.84 because it was $2 cheaper.
Someone’s new whatever was launched. I didn’t want it or need it. I had all the info. I really didn’t have interest. And yet, I saw someone Tweet it, figured, “Better get that,” and put down $97 without blinking.
It’s been 4 weeks and I haven’t even LOOKED at the new whatever. I spent $97 on NOTHING. But argued with my kid over $2. (“See, honey? This one has PRETTY hair…”)
And it’s not cash or ease. Both transactions were cards.
Riddle me that, guys!
Or just tell me I’m weird, but I’ve seen other people do the SAME thing. “I’ll choose this bag of rice because I save $0.30. Oh, and I got that ebook on XX at $47 today…”
Part of it is probably the perceived difference between ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ money. Even if both transactions are cards, at a store you are handed a receipt – a hard copy of something that details how much money you spent. That’s a reminder that you don’t get online – a digital copy is always easier psychologically to file and forget.
I also think, though, that people are trained to…ummm…feel ‘richer’ online. You’re browsing the web, the digital store, you’re modern and wired-in. To admit to yourself that you can’t afford that new e-book, that new flat screen, etc. That’s admitting to yourself that real life limits the possibilities of the internet, and consciously or not that’s something we try to avoid.
Robin Cannon´s last blog post…Dynamic CSS Backgrounds
I don’t really agree with David, mainly because I don’t shop like that. Electrical, I’ll go to a shop that I know has good prices, less if you pay cash, look for a good brand, basic functions and I’ve bought it and gone home.
I’ll decide what I want it to do, go find one that does that and take it. My DH drives me nuts because he’ll research to the nth degree before choosing a brand and model, and then traipses around to find the best price. I’ve been known to not tell him when I’m buying stuff because I don’t want to handle the frustration!
And I’m one of those who does the same as James. “No honey, the other shop was 50c cheaper” “Ooh, shiny new toy on internet” = bookoo $$$ spent.
Melinda´s last blog post…Free Blogathon April 2009 – Come Join Us!
@James: Shopping for yourself and shopping for someone else are two massively different trains of thought. If you’re shopping for yourself, in this case your e-book for $97, you want it, you think it’ll add value to you somehow, the cost becomes an irrelevance. The new Thumberlina doll for your daughter on the other hand has no direct value to you, and the cost associated has no emotional attachement, just the value you associate to the cash you would need to spend. In business (certainly in my company) the salesperson responsible for putting a sale together is usually removed from the negotiations with the customer, the emotional tie that the salesperson has to the deal is more likely to mean they will give far more away to ‘win’ the deal than someone who is not affected by the outcome.
@Melinda, I think you just hit the nail on the head. We all have different shopping habits, partly due to our individuality and our desires in certain areas. Shiny new toy on the internet, great, I’ll have that! The question is, would you buy that gadget for yourself if it was in a shop and you could play with it? I think Nathan’s comments on the removal of the mystery surrounding the product ring particularly true here. If you’ve held it and played with it already you may deem it unnecesary, however if you purchase it online it’s not until you’ve bought it that you have the same luxury.
Great post. I think there is also something here to do with anonymity. Here is something I have learned from researching consumer behavior:
How people like to see themselves (“I like to buy cool stuff”) versus how they behave are often 2 very different things. It sounds like cognitive dissonance, but it is common. Some guy might project himself as a totally confident master of the world in an online dating site, but in-person, may be more of the Clark Kent type. I posit that part of the issue here is anonymity: I’ll buy stuff online more easily because it’s easier for me to be acting as my perceived self than it is when I am in a store where I face the judgemental stare (perceived or real) from a clerk, or the physical reality of my repair-needy car’s keys as I fish for my wallet. When I shop online I can more easily feel fashionable. In person, the brutal reality of the dressing room mirror diminishes that chance that I will even bother.
Kathryn Korostoff´s last blog post…When Market Research Budgets are Cut, Leverage Your Customer Advisory Council
I hate going into town, all the busy people pushing and shoving especially in holiday seasons or weekends. I would much rather just go online look at reviews, compare prices and buy. Shopping online is like going to a shopping centre dedicated to selling the product you want, where you can look and compare prices at 20 different stores in the space of a few minutes. I bet there wouldn’t be 20 stores in town that sold the thing you were after and it certainly wouldn’t be any cheaper. It also doesn’t feel like spending or you don’t feel as guilty as passing a card or cash over for something you don’t really need but would like. As for prices going up if something goes up a few pound in a week I do think that’s crazy when I’m in a store, but if I’m looking online and the price has gone up for all the stores I look at I do tend to think well that’s life and will buy anyway.
Am I the only one who wastes more money in the physical stores?
I’m the guy that goes online and reads all the reviews, sees the comments, and then drives to the store to buy it (unless it’s a digital product).
Once I get something in my hands, I have a much harder time letting go of it than if I’m just looking at a picture. If I’m holding it, it’s mine *right now* and I’ll pay the extra $5 so I don’t have to wait for it to be shipped. Maybe I’m just impatient.
… or maybe I’ve had my credit card numbers show up in Russia one too many times.
Either way, I spend more money at Borders and in local specialty bookstores than I do on Amazon. And I’d rather run to the mall after I find something I like online.
Judging by the conversation here, I think I’m the odd man out. Isn’t there anyone else like me? *sigh*
Henry Bingaman´s last blog post…Why Bulls*** Kills Your Message
@ Henry – Well, my excuse is that I live in a small, mainly French-speaking town. English books are non-existent, appliances are limited, selection is small… But I would much prefer having stuff RIGHT NOW, so if I see something online that I can get here, I won’t wait for shipping. I’ll go buy it.
Alas, those times are rare…
James,
How does that saying go? Penny wise and pound foolish?
Some folks fall into that category. For others, I think that there is still a little bit of a thrill to buy something online.
I’ll admit that a while ago I figured something out: George+Internet Connection+Beer = Bad juju.
Don’t drink much any more but yikes, the ol’ inhibitions would go down and you may as well have added “Rube” to my email signature.
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post…An Ebook service that’s just write for writers!
It seems like you’re more willing to spend money without reservation on information products: books, ebooks, classes, etc. Our industries (writing for you, organizing for me) are based on our talent, skill and expertise. We can’t do much about our talent and skill except nurture them. But we can “invest” (i.e., spend) on products we think will increase our expertise and thus our value to clients.
That’s my theory, anyway. And I’d like to point out that *my* eBook is free.
Catherine Cantieri, Sorted´s last blog post…Introducing my free eBook: "How to Harness a Hobgoblin"!
@ Catherine – If you mean me personally, no, it’s not just about ebooks or information in the least. I just use those examples because they’re ones that people can relate to easily.
@ Tumble – Just don’t spill the beer on my carpet, eh?
@ Khaled – Exactly! Price goes up in store – *gasp!* Price goes up online? Oh well, that’s life… here’s my money.
@ Katherine – Yup, that’s true. People say one thing and do another all the time.
As for buying for appearances’ sake, we all do that too. Could be that, could be that… hm…
@ David – Do you have kids? Trust me that the emotional marketing companies can do with parents is FAR, FAR beyond anything any ebook seller could do with me.
@ Robin – I think that’s valid too – training that we’re richer online. Hm hm!
I thought I saw someone saying analyze value versus cost – heheh, search the site. You’ll see I’m big on that theory of operation.
And yet, I’m like Melinda. “That one was .50c cheaper… Oh, hang on, I need to buy this new shiny thing…!”
@James Maybe English is a more persuasive language then. I just got back from Belgium and no one sold me anything by speaking French… of course, I don’t understand French so that may have been a factor.
Actually, I think Catherine brought up an interesting point about value. It’s really easy to crank up the perceived value of a product online because you can add on so many freebees.
A good website is like a good salesman. It walks you through the products you want and shows you exactly how to buy. Most stores don’t have salesmen anymore, they just have cashiers.
“Here’s our stuff, give us money when you find what you want.”
Ironically, Amazon.com is far more personal than Borders.
The algorithm seems to know you, it personalizes the experience for you. Maybe that’s why you’re more likely to buy online.
On second thought, no. It’s the French thing…
Henry Bingaman´s last blog post…Why Bulls*** Kills Your Message
@ Henri – Quoi? Je ne comprends rien…
I have to agree with most here that it’s about the difference between cash and credit. I know that online I tend to “pull the trigger” much more quickly than in any store.
I think the “hassle free” nature of the internet plays into it too, because even though I could use a credit card in a store, just the need to wait in line can cause me to walk out very easily.
Mark Smith´s last blog post…What’s The Highest And Best Use Of Your Time?
Haha no I don’t have kids, I wasn’t really referring to incredibly emotional content that marketeers can spew out, I get caught up in that in other area’s… I can’t help but give money to certain charities due to their marketing. I guess I was thinking of it more from the point of view of the money itself and the emotional attachment people have to cash, in certain cases the cost becomes irrelevant and in others it is everything, in the case of the doll, to your daughter the cost is irrelevant but to you it’s a high priority (amongst obviously making sure she’s happy!).
Interesting discussion here. While buying online has benefits, many of which have been referred to by commenters, I find myself, unless I really know everything about the product, questioning its true value before I reach the end of the transaction.
I don’t think I am alone because I read just yesterday that 75%of shopping carts are abandoned before the deal can be closed. (Can these numbers be right?)
Sometimes I have just one or two questions that have not been answered and there is no clerk/salesperson to ask.
My only weakness is Amazon.com. Living on an island only accessible by ferry, I can get my movies and books with the click of a mouse. And I agree with Henry, Amazon.com provides a much better customer experience than Borders.
Judy Dunn´s last blog post…The Art of Selling with Stories: Engage Your Readers
Here’s another “perceived value” thing that hit me this week:
I want to buy a new iPod nano. (I have one, but it is white. The new ones come in pretty shiny colors.) It is $150, and I was looking at my budget yesterday to see where I could fit it in.
Two hours later, I was in Wal-Mart and saw a desk I really liked. (I REALLY need a new desk.) It was $149.
I walked away, thinking “$149? Gah, too much.”
Once I left the aisle, I realized it was actually LESS expensive than the iPod I was salivating over.
Maybe it’s the amount of the perceived “fun-ness” of the thing? Desks are boring, but iPods are shiny and full of music!
@ Henry – No, you’re not the only one who spends more money in physical stores. I tend to search for things online, and then head to Barnes & Noble or Best Buy to purchase them unless I absolutely cannot find said thing anywhere in a brick and mortar location. (I hate having to wait for stuff.)
I can spend big online or in real life. (This is so dangerous!) I’ve learned not to take a cart at Target. I can only buy what I can carry around the store, which isn’t much on a day I have to buy a 28lb box of cat litter!!
Geek’s Dream Girl´s last blog post…Why Are Girls Not Responding to My Dating Profile? Mabe ur spelin n grammers sux.
@ James Oui. Bonjour. Now that I’ve exhausted my French vocabulary I’m going back to English.
@ Michelle Nice point about the iPod and desk. Things at Walmart are expected to be cheap (price and quality). But when your talking about Apple products, $150 is cheap. Then again, when it comes to Apple, can you really put a price on awesomeness? (yes I’ve swallowed their advertising whole… I don’t care, it makes me happy)
@ Judy There are abandoned digital shopping carts rusting and forgotten all along the information highway. If you can get your Shopping cart abandon rate down to 40%, you’re a wiz. I think it’s because a lot of people click the checkout button as a shortcut to see the price.
Henry Bingaman´s last blog post…Why Bulls*** Kills Your Message
That’s interesting, because I find that I’m just the opposite – I part with money far too easily in real life and really have to debate with myself over spending money online. Plastic vs real money is a non-issue for me; I pay for everything with my debit card.
I find the physicality and immediateness of real life shopping makes it harder for me to resist my impulse buys. I can look at the product, handle it, try it on, sample it, before I buy. I know that once I pay for it, it is mine right away and I can enjoy it immediately.
With online shopping I have to consider:
- shipping costs (which are often quite significant – I live in Canada and shipping from the US often costs more than the product itself)
- being unable to experience it with my other senses which creates a wariness – will it fit, what is the quality, will it appeal to my other senses when it arrives, is the picture really representative, are there details that I’m missing (I’d love to buy clothes and shoes online, but they probably won’t fit, which means sending stuff back and incurring lots of shipping charges even if I end up with nothing but a refund for the product in the end. Or body products, like lotion – will I like the fragrance? Will it feel right on my skin? Who knows!)
- the wait for items to be shipped to me (which can be weeks unless I pony up for express shipping)
- the time I will have to take out of my day to pick up my package (I’ve never once been home for package delivery, so that means at least a drive to the post office – often a drive across the border, since it’s often much more economical to have items delivered to a US address, even with time and cost of gas factored in)
- do I really want this? Really? Will I feel this enthusiastic about the purchase after the waiting and inconvenience and a cooling off period? (Often the answer is no)
When it comes to physical items, I find online shopping a lot more inconvenient than going to the store to buy something, so I really have to feel sure about my purchase before I make it. Not so with real life shopping. I only buy online if the online price is a lot better than the price in local stores, or if I can’t get a particular item by going to the store.
Even with purchases I have considered for a long time, I like the immediacy of real life shopping. I may debate a purchase for weeks, but when I finally make my decision I want it now, not in a week or three.
I am more inclined to make donations to charitable causes online than in real life, because a debit machine is often unavailable at fundraisers and I almost never carry cash. When I’m not expecting anything but a receipt in return the convenience factor is there.
I haven’t really purchased things like ebooks or consulting services online. I haven’t been in need of the latter and I don’t like reading books on the computer so I’ll invariably spend the extra to get a physical copy of a book whenever possible.
Anlina Sheng´s last blog post…Going to the vet – it’s not so bad
I don’t think this is the online vs offline issue. It’s the lopsided self esteem and overall values issue.
Most people have low self esteem (even when they proudly say the contrary is true) So they want stuffs that they hope would boost self esteem while ignoring really important things. So they buy new gadgets while complaining foods are getting so expensive, and choose the toxin-loaded milk rather than organic mild that is $1 more.
Having said this, online purchase may have advantage by making it less like spending money because “Wasting money” is considered bad. For example, I don’t need to take out my credit card to shop at Amazon — they remember it
It makes it seem I’m not paying to get books — I’m only paying when the credit card bill comes. I use credit card at stores, too, but the act of taking out the card from the wallet reminds me I’m spending.
Akemi – Yes to Me´s last blog post…Creating The New World, Part 1 Love
I think my natural skepticism protects me somewhat from online spending. I’m very hesitant to buy e-books and enroll in online programs since I believe that most of them either contain information already available elsewhere or don’t deliver what they claim. (Plus, there’s more free information available online than I could ever digest.)
That being said, I remember enrolling (taken in by) in a program (it must have been five years ago) that promised to provide work leads, but basically gave out information already available for free. It actually charged my credit card about $40 a month for close to a year before I managed to get it discontinued.
I think that it’s easy to buy on impulse online and also it’s easy to rationalize such purchases (it’s to help my business). The best key, I think, is to set yourself a monthly budget for such purchases and stick to it. That “hot” e-book will still be available next month if it’s legit.
Laura Spencer´s last blog post…What’s Good For The Goose. . .
I have to agree with Robin about the virtual aspect of spending online. It’s almost as if we’re playing a Monopoly game. This is probably why online gamblers get into so much trouble. As for consumers purchasing the more expensive product, there is a mindset that if it costs more than the quality is greater. This is great for the producer, but bad for the consumer. The best combatant to overspending is product information.
I can’t answer that question because it doesn’t happen to me. Am I the only one? I don’t spend money at Amazon because I’m over at eBay or half.com or Bookmooch getting the books for less. I can’t get to the stores easily, but Borders has a store in the building where I work, so why pay postage to Amazo?
As for ebooks, I’ve only bought one or two cheap ones so far. I can’t see how an ebook, which doesn’t involve hiring a printer and spending money on paper, ink and distribution, should cost more (and usually with far fewer pages) than a regular book.
The only difference I can see is that it’s much harder to compare prices among vendors online than it is in the stores (assuming you have more than one of that type of store nearby). You can easily compare brands on a shelf, but not so easily on a website.
Dot´s last blog post…Silva CDs 7 and 8
@ Dot – Now there’s a good point. Who sets the price points online? The seller – and there are HUGE variations. $5 here, $500 there… who’s right? Who’s wrong? I think that skews our perception to know what’s right or not.
But in a store, if there were price variances like that, we’d all go nuts.
@ Shelley – Well, I want Boardwalk and Park Place. And those two dinky purple ones – Baltic and Mediterranean. If I have that, I’m King. KING, I say!!
@ Laura – Psychological behavior: When we make a decision or take a stand, we ALWAYS work hard to rationalize what we’ve just done. Some people even stick so rigidly to that it’s… really odd. Otherwise, we appear inconsistent and unreliable, which can make us an outcast, and outcast is a bad thing for survival.
@ Akemi – Not sure how this relates to self-esteem, honestly. Maybe with a good set of arguments, I’d think about that, but the toxin milk and gadgets isn’t sinking in for me.
Also, most of my purchases are unrelated to self-esteem. Trust me. Coding doesn’t do anything to boost my ego
@ Anlina – Hee hee, I do that too. Think for three weeks, but when I’ve made up my mind, by god I want it NOW!
@ Geek – Oh, come on, you can’t haul that kitty litter yourself?
@ Henry/Michelle – She’s nailed it. Contemplates the $150 iPod but turns down the $149 desk.
Comparing iPods to iPods, sure, that’s okay. It’s a good price. Comparing needs to desires… not so much. But it’s the “$149!! GASP! OHMIGOD!” that gets me. Why do we resist it so much?
James,
Related: folks who spend, spend personally, but go crazy over the pence for business. I was listening to a freelancer some while back proudly discussing the $3500 carpet he and his wife had just purchased for the dining room, who launched right into a discussion of why he was cutting back on his professional memberships “in these times” with no sense of irony.
Hell-oooo, one has the potential to expand your horizons and increase your business, and one… covers your gorgeous hardwood floors. While losing value.
An independent, so it’s not like it was “the company’s”money vs. “my” money. Same dough, and not the only time I’ve heard a story like that of late. I don’t get it.
I like this discussion—everybody’s got a neat opinion on what’s going on with this!
Until later,
Kelly
Kelly´s last blog post…What To Do When Your Internet Service Goes Out
Well… not to insist my point, but to supplement it in case I didn’t make it clear:
Buying books, even books on coding, can be seen as intellectual investment and goes with self esteem boost, while buying a $2 more expensive doll for your child would not UNTIL / UNLESS you reprogram your thinking that buying a better doll makes you a better parent. I’m not supporting these ideas are correct; I’m just saying these ideas are prevalent in many people’s minds.
Same with buying a new gadget — you can show it to friends and get a momentary “feel good”, while buying basic life needs don’t do this.
BTW I just bought a new macbook ^_^
Akemi – Yes to Me´s last blog post…Online Gratitude Journal New Macbook Edition #27
Online I find I buy non physical items: airline ticket, hotel bookings, music (download). When buying physical items I like to see and hold them before I buy them.
I hate the whole shipping thing, waiting for them to come, paying for them to be couriered, hoping the guys at customs don’t take a shine to them, is not my idea of fun.
Book buying is an event, when we arrive in another city the first thing we do is investigate every bookshop in the city to see what treasures we can find. I still love the sensation of hunting through a huge well chosen collection of books, handling and examining them before choosing the once that I want.
I think online buying can replace buying of essential things, it can replace the universal mall experience but for sheer shopping pleasure it will never compete to an a few hours browsing the shelves in a good bookshop or the pleasure of sorting through the stalls in my local souq.
Hmmmm … I shop online because a) I hate going into stores, and b) I like to comparison shop without driving here there and everywhere. So, I am willing to spend a bit more, not a LOT more, to buy something online. I am paying for convenience and greatly reduced stress. However, whether it’s in the store, or online, I still buy only what I need, or really want.
I read the comments, and the one that jumped out at me was Nathan’s. “I realize what I’m buying and actually holding it in my hand takes away the mystery. I know what I’m buying and I realize I don’t really need it after all.”
Having said that I am critical about what I buy, I admit there is still an element of truth to my shopping based on Nathan’s observation. If I can stand there with something in my hand, staring at it, I have a chance to realize I don’t really need/want it after all. Online, my only option for holding the item is to buy the bloody thing.
Urban Panther´s last blog post…Five hundred year vision
Sorry if someone else said it, but I think the reason it is so much easier to spend online than in public is because it is behind closed doors. No one sees you wip out the card, no one sees the $$$$$ on the monitor. I liken it to drinking in public versus in the closet. I also pay the bills in my house, so my husband would never know what I spent. I’m a frugal gal, though.
Wow, what an apropos topic, especially in today’s economy.
I think a lot of it has to do with habits we develop over the years. Just think back to your pre-internet, pre-online merchant days. You had to buy stuff in person, or from a catalog, or risk sending money orders to those late-night TV ads (Ginsu knives, anyone?)
Remember when Amazon was the newest thing, and how analysts every post-Christmas season would talk about their sales numbers for the year, comparing them with “brick and mortar” stores that were not online (yet)?
How did you spend your money then?
Okay, go back further and think about those days before you were inundated with unsolicited credit card offers — yes, those days when you paid with cash or go to the post office/Western Union to get a cashier’s check?
I still remember my old comic books, with the Johnson-Smith Co ads on the back. They had something called C.O.D. “cash on delivery”.
As merchants find new ways to sell, we slowly modify our buying habits to suit.
Anyhow, for me, if the item is something I “know”, I may opt to buy it online, such as my Mac desktop. Then again, I bought my iPod Touch from the local Apple Store (because I got to play with it).
For books, I may buy a used copy from Green Apple Books, or check out new ones at Borders, where I may buy it with a 30-40% coupon, or order from Amazon.
In the end, whether we’re buying something we really need, or are just buying something we (think we) want, whether for ourselves or for a family member, it comes down to developed (and ingrained) buying habits — habits that take time to form.
If we’re aware of our spending habit, then that’s a good thing. That means we can take another step back and see if we need to change anything.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post, James!
DWongster´s last blog post…My Top iPhone/iPod Touch Apps
Another consideration is: what is your objective in learning the reason why you make such irrational purchasing decisions?
Do you want to use the insight in increasing your business sales? Or do you want to correct your irrational habit?
Interesting question? But that one is easy for me:
“The only thing money has ever said to me; was goodbye. “
Chow
Jonathan
Jonathan | EnlightenYourDay.com´s last blog post…Yes, I love all things Social Media.
I find it interesting that on a blog about copywriting, no one has really raised this issue.
In a store we have the product. We can see it we can touch it. Other than what’s on the back of the box, we have nothing actively selling us the product (and if there’s a salesperson there, we often run away from them). How often, however, when you get talking to a knowledgeable salesperson do you end up buying not just the product you were thinking about, but the next model up the price scale and accessories?
On the web we can’t touch the product or look at it. We can’t flip through the pages of the ebook to check out the quality of the content, so being a good marketer the seller gives us a sales pitch. We get lots of words, wearing us down, making us feel that if we don’t get this now before the price doubles – you’d be an idiot to wait! then we’ll miss out.
Basically online we can’t run away from the salesperson – because that’s all we’re offered. And if the webcopy does its job well we buy the higher price model and get the accessories – sight unseen.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…The Courage to Try: The Jamie Grove Interview
@Alex , I love the salesperson who says don’t buy the more expensive model, the sound quality on that unit isn’t any better or tells me that for what I want to do with it, I’m pay for features I don’t want.
I think this is one of the things I prefer about real life, real sales people are more likely to be honest, its easy to spot the ones who aren’t and then I go somewhere else. Internet I find all hard selling.
hmm the internet is a very hard platform to do anything other than hard selling, the best sales people on the net are the buyers themselves, it’s all about referals, reviews and comments.
Wow, lots of comments on this post – let’s see if I can catch them all.
@ David – I disagree. We don’t use hard-sell tactics here and do quite fine indeed
But you are right in that referrals and reviews can make or break a business.
@ Maree – That type of sales tactic is actually just that – a tactic. Salespeople know that they can get a few gold sellers and hawk those, or they can suggest them, monitor consumer reaction and then step back a bit to offer another (less expensive) model. They sell more of the less expensive ones and actually end up outperforming themselves.
So beware of false honesty – sometimes it’s just influential strategies to get you to buy
@ Alex – See what I just said to Maree. Very often, people don’t buy the higher priced model. They’ll avoid the cheap model and choose somewhere in the middle.
We also have a HUGE fear of losing opportunity. We fear loss like crazy and hang onto what we have, but we also fear missing out on an opportunity. What if we could have better than we have? Oh nozz… gasp, decisions, decisions… oh noz! BUY! Worst case, we’re exactly where we were and lost nothing at all and best case, we ended up having better.
Fear of loss is *huge*. HUGE.
@ Jonathan – If Chow’s money actually talks to him, I’d suggest a visit to the doctor… Then again, if my money could talk, I imagine it would say something like, “Do you MIND not putting us through the washer? That’s VERY uncomfortable…”
@ Akemi – Heh, if you think I want to cure myself of something, you’d be mistaken. I don’t see the behavior as irrational – there’s a reason for it, and I’m just curious what it is, considering that so many people I know do the same as I. I don’t have a habit I want to correct or a strategy I want to use. I’m just curious.
Sometimes, there’s no deeper meaning and wanting to know is all there is.
@ DWongster – Oh yeah. Knowing why you buy and what triggers your “take out wallet” behavior is so important. Altering that pattern of behavior isn’t so easy, though, but well worth it. For example, I began January 2009 debt free after decades of being a credit cruncher. I had to change my mindset and how I spent and avoid triggers for spending. Now, I have new behavioral habits and I’m glad to have them.
@ Amber – Oooh, good one. We’re all closet spenders, hiding our dirty little addiction to the thrill of buying… and believe me, that can definitely be an addiction for many people.
@ Urban – Holding and being able to see is a good one too. I can’t leaf through an ebook online to see if it’s worth the $20. I can do so in a store and make more informed selections that please me (or leave them behind!) Good point, that.
Hope I caught everyone at least once!
My experience is the opposite; I have an easier time spending money on things I can touch. I thought everyone was like that, and that’s the reason I’m essentially giving away my book on the internet. Now, I wonder if I should charge more than you would pay for it at B&N!
Kaushik´s last blog post…The Second Obstacle – The Search
Well, James. To be honest, I’m a very thrifty person (Some of my friends said I’m more like the cheapskates, whatever!) and I’ll try my best to save as much as I can, while I’m shopping in the local mall. However, I won’t be overreacting, if the price of the goods is rise up a little bit than before…