If you are like me you probably find yourself overspending on Ecommerce sites when working from home. You can imagine there are several connections between remote work and Ecommerce. Why? Working from home can be one of the most exciting ventures you’ll ever undertake. Telecommuting can also create the kid in the candy store effect. The remote job tasks you complete online can compel you to check ecommerce sites. What’s the latest in fashion?
Related work from home tips:
- How working from home can save you $4,000 or more annually
- How to use the money saved to invest in you!
- How working from home changes consumer habits
What’s the new tool that can make yard work easier? What’s the latest health care research? You get the picture. You see so much good stuff that you can’t pick – so you buy and buy and buy. Consumerism can become addictive. The purpose of this article is to share 6 tips and apps to help you avoid overspending when working virtually from home.
Remote work has helped Ecommerce spending expand to new heights
CBS News writes, “remote work has helped to drive an additional $375 billion in online purchases last year.” The increase in online ecommerce buying habits aren’t homogenously experienced by US workers working from home. Labor economists observed online commerce trended lower in US states with smaller percentages of remote workers than those US states where telecommuters hold higher proportions of the total employees working. Further, employed US workers aren’t singularly enticed to spend more money online when working virtually.
Increases in Ecommerce spending closely aligned with proportion of remote workers
Much like US states where fewer remote job vacancies are offered, nation states with fewer telecommuting job opportunities, online ecommerce consumption has leveled. At the same time, just as vibrant US teleworking state ecommerce economies flourish, countries across the globe with active teleworkers, online ecommerce purchasing has increased by about 4%.
In referencing a report from Mastercard Institute, the convenience of tele-work has made it much easier to buy necessities and splurge on luxuries you would not normally buy. In the privacy of your home, you can take your time, read customer reviews, compare prices, item features without a nagging husband or partner looking over your shoulder in distain.
Plus! There is the added bonus that experiencing less guilt as you don’t have to physically search for money in your wallet, discover spare change or determine which credit card has the highest outstanding credit available. All you need to do is, click a button. And you’re done!
What do remote workers buy when spending money online?
You may ask the question, “what do telecommuters purchase when buying items online?” The Wall Street Journal showcased research demonstrating remote workers purchasing these items:
- Spend more money on groceries and less money on restaurants
- Allocate more money towards home maintenance, renovations and utilities
- Intend to spend less money on apparel, but monthly purchases of clothing remains strong
- Spend less money on public transportation, yet still drive the same number of daily miles as commuters
- Less likely to plan a vacation, and yet flexible work arrangements allow remote workers to extend length of trips by up to three days
4 factors influencing increases in remote worker Ecommerce spending
We admit. It can be difficult for remote workers to avoid increases in Ecommerce consumerism. Not only are we fascinated by its convenience. There are other reasons to, we can rationalize.
When your new item arrives, you can take the pleasure of open them all up. Yes, its true! The logistics company, Miles Express explored the science of getting, receiving and opening packages. Why? Because its their business. Anyway, logisticians theorized and presented evidence buyers experience:
- The element of anticipation and a sense of excitement. For instance, Razorfish surveyed about 1,700 consumers from the US, UK Brazil, and China. Their findings? A significant majority of online shoppers were much more excited when their items arrived in the mail compared to when they bought things in physical stores.
- A sense of social connection to an admired Ecommerce site is experienced. Especially by remote workers who may be prone to isolation and loneliness.
- The feeling of accomplishment. Miles Express cites a study appearing in the Journal of Consumer Psychology. The research concluded that buyers who “purchased gifts for themselves reported higher levels of happiness and satisfaction compared to those who did not.”
Can be difficult for remote workers to avoid the Ecommerce spending trap
While teleworkers may increase online expenditures for convenience, feelings of anticipation, social connection and accomplishment, it doesn’t end there.
Ecommerce splurging can get out of control. Why? Maybe once the product was received, it wasn’t what you envisioned. It doesn’t look right. Poorly fit. Or the new tool short circuits after just one or two uses. Maybe the handle on the Chinese product breaks. So what do you do? Instead of feeling overwhelmed and disappointed, you may take to your computer again in search of another hot and trendy product to buy.
So those opportunities to consume more product beckon to you with flashes of lights, sounds and animation. Hopefully we’ll learn to ignore. This is known as the shiny new object syndrome. When this happens, it means you were intrigued by a product or an idea enough that it replaces the product that you just purchased to solve your initial problem or original desire to buy something.
You may have loved the way it was presented, were enticed by the thought of using it, feeling its texture, or visualizing how it would make yard work, house work or exercise easier. You wanted it – so you got it. But then the newness wore off because you didn’t keep focused on what enticed you to buy the product, to begin with.
The advantages of remote work lend themselves to Ecommerce purchasing
The advantageous features of remote work allows employees and remote staff working virtually to move to more remote areas that can make online shopping a necessity. Further, the delivery of purchased products at your doorstep, when working from home, means that you can immediately retrieve your purchased items. Rather than worry all day about porch pirates and thieves stealing them when you are duty bound to remain chained to your traditional office location many miles away. Finally, marketers of products , says, Scott Baker of the Kellogg School of Management, are taking advantage of consumers are beginning to learn and perfect their online purchasing skills. Most often these savvy ecommerce marketers employ the technique of ‘spaying’, or throwing coupons, sweepstakes spinning wheels, and instant notifications of special sales to influence weary internet scrollers to spend money in order to save it.
Temporary remote work diversions doesn’t mean we are bad workers just easy prey?
Diverting our attention to ecommerce sites while working from home doesn’t mean we are bad people. Horrible workers. Or possess a detestable work ethic. Maybe we are more susceptible to being preyed upon. Marketers are skilled in applying these three words. Motive. Opportunity. Means. In any investigation, criminologists can identify a likely perpetrator solely when emphasizing these three words.
Ecommerce marketers realize too that a quick way to increase market share and revenue is to find out:
- Motive. Remote workers have a desire to ward off feelings of isolation and loneliness; maybe Ecommerce spending can mitigate them?
- Means. Telecommuters have the opportunity to shop online because most of their remote job tasks are fulfilled using online platforms.
- Opportunity. Remote workers are some of the highest paid workers in the workforce today.
Steps remote workers can take to avoid excessive Ecommerce spending
You won’t ever succeed with remote work when you are easily influenced to continually buy products. Are you easy prey for online marketers? How many shiny new objects have you bought in the last year? The last six months? Did you give any of them a fair effort before moving on to the next? Here are a few suggested steps remote workers can take to prevent excessive Ecommerce spending.
- Maintain a list of trusted sites. Use these most often as they are quicker to load, you are an expert in navigating their platform, and you are satisfied with the product quality.
- Schedule Ecommerce scrolling time. Five to ten minutes during your lunch break or five to ten minutes before clocking out from your remote work job would be ideal.
- Keep a log of the times you scroll to Ecommerce sites.
- Analyze the times in which you are easily distracted and revert to Ecommerce scrolling. Is it right before a pressing deadline? During a team meeting? When researching information for a remote work project?
- Develop a tactic for stopping yourself when you catch yourself scrolling (imagine your boss staring at you, visualize a stop sign)
- Download apps to help prevent you from scrolling to Ecommerce sites. Here’s a few:
- Freedom (blocks websites that distract remote workers from getting their remote job done)
- RescueTime (helps you create alerts and track your time to maintain work from home productivity)
- NoScroll (encourages the intentional use of your mobile phone)
- Headway (gives an alternative option for mindless scrolling to be replaced with learning activities)
Conclusion
Instead of being caught trying painstakingly force yourself not to scroll to visit any Ecommerce stores and shops, create a plan that works for you. There is no rule police squad that will come bang on your door if you don’t follow step by step. You can achieve success in using Ecommerce sites moderately.
Don’t forget. You’re a distinct individual with unique talents and traits that are of sincere interest to most online shopping marketers. So as you explore the internet, don’t spend needless time forgetting what you have already learned and gathered, the products that you’ve bought and those that were satisfying and those that were not.
