I don’t do too many impulse buys these days as the internet has made it too easy to research all of my purchases. I think I do most of my personal shopping online including clothing, bike gear, outdoor gear etc. It is too easy to check prices, read reviews and analyze detailed specs to not research everything. I can’t really think of an ”impulse” buy in recent history for me, but I’ll give a description of how I shopped for our bathroom remodel last week.
My wife and hired a company to remodel the complete ground floor area of our 1905 Queen Anne style home. We are now in the 4th month of the process and encountered some dry rot damage in bathroom walk in shower that we did not intend to do any major work on. This discovery has necessitated going beyond our scope of work but did not require that we work with our current contractor. I decided to put the job up for quotes to 3 companies and then went to the internet to learn about proper construction of a tiled walk in shower. I discovered that there are a variety of methods of which some made better sense to me for improved waterproof integrity. I found forums in which professional tile people discussed the merits of the various systems, visited corporate websites and watched youtube videos. When I discussed my preference to use the Schluter Kerdi Membrane system with the contractors, I learned that only one of the contractors was certified to use this product. I reviewed pricing, reputation and capabilities and ultimately chose the contractor that could provide this service. The fact that I could watch a video and clearly understand the benefits of the product helped clinch the deal.
To sum it up, I don’t think I could have come to a well informed decision in such a short time span 6 or 8 years ago. The tools available online to help sell have really improved the experience.
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