People in India inclined to online shopping with the outbreak of Covid-19 whereas as it uncommon to shop online before that. Now they are getting habitual of shopping online for it is easy, convenient and full of fun in free time. Exclusive deals and offers make people addicted to navigate online grocery shopping store since supermarkets and other offline mode of shopping have monotonous way of selling produce.
Sometimes online shopping can be very costly when one makes unplanned purchases, go over one’s budget, or waste time at work scrolling through websites looking for cheap and best goods when one is supposed to be finishing important task.
Being addicted to online shopping, it is hard to stop from wasting time and money for just only to have fun. If you are one of those addicted people, you can adopt some strategies to curb your online shopping addiction:
The Rise of Online Shopping
In being habitual is not a self temptation but the online shopping has made so out of hand. The merchants make it effortless to browse, add a few special cost effective items to customers’ carts, hence they spend more than they have planned. They display lucrative offers as free shipping, related products or accessories on a sidebar, and lure us to spend more with coupon codes. Even when you are on some other sites, dozens of flashy ads from online shopping sites tempt you to visit them.
Undoubtedly, online shopping is convenient and hassle-free as well as cut extra cost on fuel while one makes multiple trips to many stores of his needs. You can shop from your home, office or anywhere you are but the problem lies here when you want to avoid people or situation and start browsing for nothing and find some toys for kids and some attractive garments for your lady and just purchase for tempting offers. Avoid browsing the online shopping stores till you need to buy goods there.
Are You Addicted to Online Shopping?
It is very common notion that ladies have addiction of online shopping. But the online shopping stores have made so many people habitual of it that they drain their budget while making unnecessary purchases before the end of every month.
For such people, online shopping is an addiction which is completely out of control, wrecking their finances, long-term goals, and even their relationships.
Find out the following signs in yourself if you online shopping habit has turned menacing:
- You try to hide purchased goods from your family.
- You often disturb your monthly budget because of online purchases.
- You have increased credit card debt due to online purchases.
- You have got issued a “secret” credit card that you use it only for online purchases.
- You often expostulate with your spouse or partner over your purchases.
- You sometimes feel sorry after you make an online purchase.
- You become crazy if you do not brows your favorite retailer’s website.
- You feel anxious to “miss a deal” when you don’t visit your favorite site.
- You often purchase items just because they were on sale.
- You feel like addicted to online shopping.
It has also been observed that sometimes, people who are addicted to online shopping face psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, hoarding, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some others develop an online shopping addiction owing to their loneliness, social anxiety, or the issues of their conjugal life.
How to Curb Your Online Shopping Habit
You should leave the habit of hunting for sales or offers from online shopping stores until you need to buy goods there. The following tips will incredibly work to cope up with online shopping addiction:
Schedule a Wake-Up Call
Downloading a free app ‘Rescue Time’, you can track your visit time on each shopping websites such as online grocery shopping site throughout the week. If you don’t have any idea of such involvement, this will make you aware of time spent on each site. Such tracking can be your eye-opener since you suffer a great loss unconsciously. After being aware of your wasted time on useless browsing, you will think of utilizing it on some useful activities.
Block the Shops
Do you long to visit a retailer’s online shopping store as soon as you wrap your routine task? This habit might end up at a purchase actually that you don’t need. Instead of relax from your day’s toil, you spend without need to disturb you budget. Here we are suggesting some useful apps to assist you:
- StayFocused. It is a free app that works with Chrome. It enables the users to block certain websites during specified times unlike LeechBlock it has added features by enabling you to block the entire “genres” of websites, visiting any online retailer, watching any type of video or playing any type of game.
- LeechBlock. It is a free app that works with the Firefox browser. You specify which websites and when you need to block them.
- Freedom. It is a productivity app which blocks the user’s access to internet for a specified period. Distinguished entrepreneurs, writers and the world’s largest companies use Freedom to cope up with the distractions. Freedom works with any device on any platform and costs about Rs. 175 for a month.
Remove Your Credit Cards
This is one of the important tasks to get rid of online shopping addiction that check out your credit card information from your favourite retailer’s online store. First it reduces the risk of identity theft and secondly you will have to physically get your card and enter the required information to make a purchase. This time taking process will be annoying and helpful to avoid unnecessary purchase.
Declutter your home and office
Agglomeration of goods in your home and office confuses a person that how much stuff he really has there. If he wants to curb his online shopping habit, he should take time to arrange them in order and tidy up the place. When one starts going through one’s closets and drawers, will come to know that one already has more than one needs, and buying more goods is not practical. Excess items at a place create a mess while you may feel liberating if you get rid of those things and you will not think again to fill that space again.
A little precaution
The addicted online shoppers make unplanned purchases when they find an item is on sale or something attracts them while they are just browsing without a purpose. The frequent unplanned purchases can drain their budget and lead to high credit card debt.
Keep a waiting period for online shopping stores. Some people keep waiting at least 24 hours while some others for 72 hours or longer when they find something they need. You may consult your friend or spouse before you make a purchase for they must clear if you really need it.
Unsubscribe
Unsubscribe from all the retailers’ newsletters you receive time and again. This way you will not be enticed by their special offers and sales. For a while you may think of money saving but its darker side disturb your monthly budget. When you do not see their compelling adds you may lessen your purchase.
Save for a greater cause
Identify a goal in life that really matters and you want to accomplish it. When you have identified, put a picture of whatever it is by your bed, or on the wallpaper of your phone. This picture will remind you again and again that you are earning for a greater cause than the goods on the online shopping stores. Just think of your goal in life whenever you are tempted to make an online purchase.
Bring Your Own Entertainment
Some people browse to combat boredom at the doctor’s office, waiting for your kids at school, or at beauty parlor or hair dresser. Hence this random online browsing leads to some online shopping sites which tempt to buy something to alleviate such boredom.
To get rid of such browsing habit in boredom, select some other way that enhance your knowledge or develop your personality. Besides opening your web browser, read books, watch informative videos on YouTube or listen audio books. They may help you to avoid your online shopping addiction as well as develop your personality.
Conclusion
Online shopping is both a boon and a bane. It is convenient hassle-free to those you are much busy in their day’s toil or business or ladies with tiny kids. However, many people get habitual of online shopping which is unplanned and often drain the monthly budget. Since these online shopping stores are always open and one can visit such sites at any time 24/7, this becomes a greater challenge to addicted people to save money.
All the tips to curb online shopping can help you avoid it but identifying your meaningful goal of life must remind you a better use of your hard earnings. So set the target of life and hit it using your saving and time without being spendthrift at online shopping stores. But at Basketor online shopping store, we always ensure to provide best quality products at reasonable price.
