THE SAGA OF ONLINE SHOPPING

Festive Sale! Flat 50% off!Big Billion Sale!And what not!

It is that time of the year when online shopping portals are abuzz with activity. There are lightning deals that literally appear and disappear at lightning speed. And if you do manage to avail any such deal, you almost feel you've conquered the Universe. Probably that's the whole idea- to infuse a sense of achievement in you, to make you feel you've 'saved' your hard-earned money.

Now, I won't pretend to be a saint-like being who doesn't fall for such deals. In fact, this post comes as an aftermath of Exceeding Expectations- exceeding the amount of online shopping that I'd expected I'd do. During saner times, I'd be the purist, the traditionalist that would look down her nose when someone mentioned online shopping. And now I can't believe I've reached this stage wherein I've had to forcibly shut down the computer to prevent myself from over-shopping. And I realise I'm not alone.

Which brings me to the question- where is all this leading to? For many people, going out to shop is not just about buying stuff. The time spent trying out different stuff, shop-hopping, and finally finding that perfect pair of ballets or that beautiful little black dress that looks like it's been made just for you, is more interesting than the actual act of buying itself. And this sadly, doesn't happen when you buy stuff online. Many-a-times you bump into old friends and end up shopping together, which again cannot happen with the computer. The personal touch is missing, and it's simply not the same. 

But times are changing. In today's scenario where time is luxury, one cannot always expect to have this luxurious commodity in abundance. The one Sunday you get is so precious, the last thing you'd think of doing is wasting it at the mall, when you can blissfully spend the evening at the beach or simply going for a long drive. The mad crowds, sweaty people pushing past, long never-ending queues at the billing desk, kids running around while their parents seem oblivious to their mischiefs- Whew! 

I know many parts of this post contradict each other, but that's exactly the train of thought running through my head, as I go through the list of my orders on a popular website. I periodically curse myself for not having exercised some control over my fingers before clicking 'buy now'. The damage has been done. The sentence at home already has been pronounced - no more shopping for 6 months. And I'd consider it an achievement to follow this sentence for two months straight.

So where does one draw the line? Probably it would be prudent to come up with a healthy balance somewhere, before the hole burnt in the pocket is too big to repair!

So, happy shopping folks! 

May your sense prevail before you click buy now!  

(Picture sourced from here)