The cure for too much late night shopping

If you’re doing lots of late night online shopping and then regretting it later, here’s a trick that will make you a more satisfied consumer.

Online shopping isn’t so much an activity or even a pastime so much as it an obsession. Since so many sites (including social media) have a shopping component to it, you’re basically always online shopping whether you know it or not.

And one of the most common times to do shopping is late at night, before you head to bed.

I have definitely heard from clients a kind of morning-after regret, looking at their Amazon (or wherever) purchases and wondering why on earth they felt like buying all that was a good idea.

First of all, right off the bat, I want to urge everyone who engages in lots of online retail therapy, that this is intentional. Companies have spent years and billions of dollars to induce this kind of spending in you, making it so seamless that it’s almost harder not to go to checkout. Everything is a marketplace now, and while you may be the product, they still find many ways to take your money from you.

And I’m not actually going to tell you to stop doing it.

I know many people think that the role of a financial coach is to get you to spend less money, but I just want you to spend intentionally, and on things that you really value. If a Starbucks latte brings you joy every day, I am not going to tell you that you’re wasting money; I just want to help you find a way to pay for it! And the same with your online shopping.

So here’s an easy trick that doesn’t require you to do much behavioral change, but can save you not only money, but also a little of that morning-after regret.

Shop as normal, but…

The trick here involves recognizing that there is a difference between “shopping” and “purchasing”.

To shop means to browse, to inspect, to put things in your cart. To purchase means to hit that “Go to checkout” button, and actually pay for something (or, if you’re using a credit card, not-yet paying for the something).

So, because there is a difference, let’s separate the two:

Shop all you want, whenever you want. Put all the items in your cart that your heart desires.

And then…don’t check out until the morning.

That’s the only difference.

Shopping is the fun part

Let’s be honest: the shopping part is one of the most enjoyable parts of the whole experience. The receiving stuff part is good too of course (I love a good unboxing).

But the checkout part? Meh.

So by suggesting that you check out in the morning, I’m not telling you to stop doing a part that you actually enjoy.

And since you probably have Amazon Prime/Walmart+/etc., there’s not going to be that much difference in shipping time between the night before and the morning after. (And if you do slow shipping, it won’t matter anyway.)

So with this small change, you still get to do pretty much everything you want to do anyway, with one small difference that makes a world of change.

Why check out in the morning?

I’m using a lot of “morning after” language, which mirrors language around things like getting drunk and doing things in the nighttime that you regret in the morning.

These situations are not that dissimilar. The feelings that people report are the same kind of shame and embarrassment with purchases as with other forms of behavioral regret.

So the time spent waiting between the night before and the morning after give you an opportunity to pause and reflect on your intended purchases, so you can better determine if you actually want to make them.

The light of day brings clarity. If you look at your cart, and it all looks good, then hit checkout and you’re quickly done. And if you look and see things you’re not sure why you thought you might want? Well, it’s easy to remove them from your cart. No shame, no regret, and, best of all, no money spent.

Not for nighttime only

I’m focusing on late night would-be purchases here, but this trick can work for any kind of purchase.

In general, a “cool down” time is not a terrible idea for lots of purchases, especially big ticket items, such as a 24 hour waiting period. A little waiting can ensure that you’re spending on what you truly want to spend money on, and not something that just seemed like a good idea at the time.