Apple-a-day

Impulse buying and well-considered buying aren't mutually exclusive. Especially when buying online. Apple's online store is maybe the most effective sales funnel I've ever seen. It's got everything you need to make your purchasing decisions right there, and every step of the way you're being guided toward your final sale. The photography all highlights their products' great design, there's information and benefit oriented copy galore, and your ability to customize whatever it is your ordering gets you to spend way more than you intended to every single time.

While you're browsing their catalog and figuring out what specs you need you're technically making a well thought out purchase decision, but with every little upgrade they offer you along the way, you're inclined to make some impulse decisions by the time you've got your credit card out sitting in front of you at your desk. Consumers have to be especially careful shopping online these days after they've knocked back a few brewskies. The potential for missing deceptive shipping costs and high interest rates on financing is particularly huge, which is part of what makes the internet such a powerful tool for selling.

That's how I ended up spending $1,400 on a laptop I didn't need and promptly lost to a clever (and far more sober than myself) cab driver. Moral of the story? Go to the brick and mortar store and freeze your credit cards in a big block of ice.