I broke my right ankle about a month ago. (I’ll live, and I’ll walk again in a few weeks, thanks for asking.)

Why is this relevant to marketing, you might ask? It’s relevant because, thanks to the fact I can’t walk or drive, I’ve been doing a boatload of online shopping recently.

My time surfing and spending has taught me one important thing: Even when its 2 a.m. and you’re doped up on Percocet, impulse shopping just ain’t what it used to be.

Granted, there have been days when I’ve peered out onto my porch only to see boxes that I have absolutely no clue where they might have come from. (It’s fun, kinda like Christmas.)

I have done a ton of practical shopping, like getting clothes my kids needed from Gymboree. And I picked up some crafts sets on sale from e-tailer The Clever Caterpillar for my son to give as birthday gifts, and bought swim bubbles for both my boys from The Lifeguard Store. Those purchases weren’t impulse buys—I bought the former after a receiving a promotional e-mail, and the latter after about an hour of research.

But it’s that research factor that has changed impulse buying. One night soon after my surgery, when I was taking painkillers and couldn’t sleep, I hazily watched an infomercial for bareMinerals makeup. After about 15 minutes, I had to have it. (Never mind that it’s silly to think about investing in makeup when you’re hardly leaving the house.)

I quickly grabbed my laptop and logged on to buy. I looked at the offer…and then stopped. Hmmmm….maybe I should Google around and read reviews about the product?

I did just that, and convinced myself not to buy something I couldn’t try first. Instead, I went over to the Clinique site and saw that Nordstrom had a Clinique free gift on offer. I loves me some free gifts—who doesn’t? I then proceeded to pop over to Nordstrom’s site and take advantage of their $5 shipping on beauty product orders over $50 offer, and bought some cosmetics I was positive I’d like and use.

The power of the Internet led me away from one impulse buy and right into the arms of another, thanks to the ease of researching my purchases.

Do you impulse buy online? Or has the Web made you a smarter shopper all around?

Which am I? Let me go check if there’s anything waiting on my porch and I’ll get back to you.

I broke my right ankle about a month ago. (I’ll live, and I’ll walk again in a few weeks, thanks for asking.)

Why is this relevant to marketing, you might ask? It’s relevant because, thanks to the fact I can’t walk or drive, I’ve been doing a boatload of online shopping recently.

My time surfing and spending has taught me one important thing: Even when its 2 a.m. and you’re doped up on Percocet, impulse shopping just ain’t what it used to be.

Granted, there have been days when I’ve peered out onto my porch only to see boxes that I have absolutely no clue where they might have come from. (It’s fun, kinda like Christmas.)

I have done a ton of practical shopping, like getting clothes my kids needed from Gymboree. And I picked up some crafts sets on sale from e-tailer The Clever Caterpillar for my son to give as birthday gifts, and bought swim bubbles for both my boys from The Lifeguard Store. Those purchases weren’t impulse buys—I bought the former after a receiving a promotional e-mail, and the latter after about an hour of research.

But it’s that research factor that has changed impulse buying. One night soon after my surgery, when I was taking painkillers and couldn’t sleep, I hazily watched an infomercial for bareMinerals makeup. After about 15 minutes, I had to have it. (Never mind that it’s silly to think about investing in makeup when you’re hardly leaving the house.)

I quickly grabbed my laptop and logged on to buy. I looked at the offer…and then stopped. Hmmmm….maybe I should Google around and read reviews about the product?

I did just that, and convinced myself not to buy something I couldn’t try first. Instead, I went over to the Clinique site and saw that Nordstrom had a Clinique free gift on offer. I loves me some free gifts—who doesn’t? I then proceeded to pop over to Nordstrom’s site and take advantage of their $5 shipping on beauty product orders over $50 offer, and bought some cosmetics I was positive I’d like and use.

The power of the Internet led me away from one impulse buy and right into the arms of another, thanks to the ease of researching my purchases.

Do you impulse buy online? Or has the Web made you a smarter shopper all around?

Which am I? Let me go check if there’s anything waiting on my porch and I’ll get back to you.