Convenience is not free

Question: I am embarrassed to say that I am addicted to online shopping. I mean, what’s a person to do when mobility outside the home is restricted. How can I get rid of this addiction? Asked at “Ask a Friend, Ask Efren” free service at www.personalfinance.ph, SMS, Viber, Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

Answer: Online shopping is a craze that has been going on for many years, even prior to the pandemic, and has impacted people around the world. Online shopping is successful because it taps into a heuristic that heretofore was a great aid for living comfortably. That heuristic is the penchant for going after convenience.

But before we continue, allow me to define heuristic. A heuristic is nothing more than a rule of thumb, educated guess, intuitive judgement and plain common sense used in decision making. Merriam Webster defines heuristic as “involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery or problem-solving by experimental and especially trial-and-error methods.”

Physical shopping entails a lot of effort and expense. Imagine having to don your OOTD, travel to a shop, choose among the options, pull out money or credit/debit card from your wallet to pay, then travel back home. With online shopping, even if you are in your ultra-comfortable, well-ventilated “bullet hole-ridden” shirt, with just a touch of a few buttons, you could already buy the items that your little heart desires. Convenient, right?

Logically, yes, for the ease with purchasing produces immediate satisfaction. But then there is the wait time. Overdue shipments can cause stress and have an adverse impact like vowing never to buy the item from the same supplier again. There is also the likelihood that the wrong item will be shipped or that what was shipped was defective. When these things happen, convenience goes out the window, right?

Again, logically, yes. But do not forget the thrill of anticipation. There is a package containing goodies that is coming and the passing of each day makes your heart beat a little faster. This thrill of anticipation is best explained by this quote from Winnie the Pooh. “Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best,” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called. Marketers take full advantage of the thrill of anticipation.

Convenience comes with a fee, which at the very least is the shipping fee. If you were to transfer funds from one bank account to another just to facilitate your online transaction, there could also be the convenience fee that some banks charge. And, this is a true story, I personally experienced shopping for a home appliance that was cheaper by over P1,000 at the physical store than in the online shopping portal.

So, how do you battle this online shopping addiction? There are many ways with the impact varying from person to person. One way is to read the worst comments on the product to turn you off. While some comments may not be planted, at least the worst ones will tend to be more authentic.

Another way is to intentionally catch the ATC or add to cart virus. Be careful as this is a double-edged sword of a strategy. On the one hand, you are exposing yourself to more temptation to buy a particular product. But hopefully, with too many options to choose from, your brain will take a long enough time (to untangle the confusion) that it will lose interest in buying the product.

Yet another way is to always pay in cash through debit card or other electronic platforms and monitor the balance right after buying. With our brain being loss averse, pain will be inflicted every time we see our balance going down. And to be sure that the strategy works, use only one account for buying online and top it up only once a month.

There are many more strategies to counter online shopping addiction. Find one that suits you. Remember, convenience is not free. It is the stuff that wreaks havoc on our finances. INQ

Efren Ll. Cruz is a Registered Financial Planner of RFP Philippines, seasoned investment adviser, bestselling author of personal finance books in the Philippines. To consult with a YAMAN Coach, email [email protected]. To learn more about personal financial planning, attend the 92nd RFP Program this October 2021. To inquire, email [email protected] or text at 0917-.6248110

Copyright 2021 Efren Ll. Cruz, RFP. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written consent of the author.