We all would
agree that technology has the tendency to offer umpteen benefits but mostly at a
very high invisible cost and surely online shopping is one of them. It’s one of
those drugs which works both ways i.e. it not only creates the adrenaline rush
for evaluating and grabbing the best deal but at the same time it takes care of
the adrenaline rush generated from other means. Online shopping is much more
than getting the product online as compared to hitting the physical set up.
It’s a typical form of indulgence where we are well aware as to where we are
heading but still choose to ignore and simply love to get carried away. It
instigates us to defy our periodic budget and find justification for artificial
needs which never existed ever.
Does that mean
that online shopping is simply a curse? Not exactly!!! It has different shades ranging
from rational buying through dangerous addiction but unfortunately as we start
with the rational buying, gradually the lines get blurred and we don’t even realize
how and when we have already entered in the dangerous territory of addiction. When
it comes to making use of this forum in the right way, it’s not less than a
blessing. With the busy schedule, it’s mostly impractical to visit tons of stores
for every single thing or one stadium like store for petty things. It can’t get
more convenient to order routine things online and get it delivered as per our
convenience whereby we can easily get rid of the hassles of crazy traffic as
well as spending considerable time.
In a very short
span of time this platform has gained popularity, mushroomed like anything and
still growing by leaps and bounds. The real penetrating strategy being used to
trap billions of customers is not to offer the convenience but to offer magical
deals. From billion dollar days to days enticing us to shop till we drop, from
season sales to end of reason sale; deals are just getting outrageous and can’t
get better for consumers. On one hand, consumers are enjoying the war between
online players as it allows them to buy the most coveted products at a
throwaway price but at the same time consumers are also not able to gauge their
real needs. These crazy deals simply make them blind and creates a lust for
possession.
Online shopping
has made lives easy but at a huge price. The drug like addiction to compare and
check for the lucrative offers is an ostensible trap which keeps haunting every
now and then. If we see the bigger picture, the impact is way more toxic. It
lures us to possess more and more & look different for the smallest
possible occasion or even for no occasion/to binge just because extra-large is
coming at the price of small or to own gadgets just because everyone else has it.
It has overtaken our common sense and we have stopped realizing the value for
money as the products we used to buy at full price are now available for less
than 60-70% of the price or the products which we used to dream and couldn’t
afford has suddenly became affordable. So, basically, now we wish to own the
regular products as they are cheap as well as the fancy ones as they are affordable.
This vicious
circle of saving more on more for each category of available products eventually
makes us spend way more than what we would have spent otherwise. Now, can we
call this proposition rational? Does this count for actual saving? Whether the
convenience offered by this forum is worth it? The real epidemic is the effect
on the mind set like, “I am getting a branded apparel for just 500 bucks, what
else I can ask for?”, “although it doesn’t fit well but not bad as it’s available
at 80% discount”, “it’s so cheap that I should buy, if I don’t use it I can
gift it to someone”, “I don’t have this color/style in my wardrobe, I can
upgrade it with literally no cost”, “I am sure I can use it someday” and the
worst one, “it might not be that great but not bad for the discounted price”.
If we simply
understand the math behind this model, the trap planned for us is
self-explanatory. We all know that there are no free lunches in this world so,
obviously, online players are not concerned for the well-being of the entire nation,
but they are burning money every second for a bigger reason. It’s high time to
take a step back and realize the real objective of buying online and benefiting
from discounts. If we choose to skip this introspection now, we would be in the
middle of a slippery slope very soon where we would simply stock things for no
reason and realize that the budget we used to have for 12 months of shopping is
already exhausted in the first quarter, then first month and so on. Need not to
say that if the rhythm continues, it would simply lead to ‘BUY UNTIL YOU DIE’.
So, let’s use the technology and don’t let the technology use us/ let’s benefit
from the offers and don’t let offers get inside our veins!!!
