On a lazy weekend day or a relaxing night after work, we often find ourselves hitting the internet for some casual web browsing. Next thing we know, we’ve spent over three hours searching store websites in an online shopping frenzy. What’s wrong with us?
But what some may label a shopping addiction may actually be productive, money-saving and smart. So the next time your boyfriend mocks you for your seemingly obsessive online shopping, reply with a ha! and some facts from the new data that suggests an online shopping “addiction” isn’t making millennials broke—it’s actually reducing spending.
Based on data found in a report released by retail marketing platform Monetate, many (including the Washington Post) are concluding that young spenders aren’t just wasting time meticulously searching store websites and leaving endless items to sit in online shopping carts—they’re actually employing some savvy research skills!
Mic.com refers to this super smart research strategy as “webrooming,” which translates to extensively researching a product online before committing to a purchase. So basically, we’re making careful and informed decisions before buying those to-die-for wedges, madly comparing prices and qualities of similar items to make sure we’re getting the best of the best at the lowest of costs. As far as we’re concerned, this isn’t an addiction—it’s ingenious.
And all of those stereotypes about millennials being lazy and splurge-crazy? Totally false if our shopping habits have anything to say about it! Younger shoppers are not only spending dedicated time finding the perfect items, they’re also more conservative spenders, only pulling the trigger on 57 percent of shopping endeavors according to data from Time.
We have a few speculations about the cause of this data. Maybe it’s because we’re totally committed to sales, storing desired clothes in our cart so we don’t forget them and only following through when the next web sale pops up. Or, because we’re so invested in our favorite online stores that we know when items are overpriced or not worth the money. Either way, we’re happily ready to excuse our online shopping habits with science.
All in all, your silly little “shopping addiction” is actually incredibly empowering and beautifully stingy. So, the next time you realize you really, really need something and then spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to find one of those somethings that fulfills you and your wallet’s wildest dreams? Don’t be ashamed—be proud.