It's a temporary high one gets from shopping. There's little time for rationalization. Bill Furmanski, a spokesman for the National Foundation for Consumer Credit, said it could be easier to buy impulsively online than off. On the Internet, it's not as easy. Maybe you should sign off first, and it will still be there when you sign back on.
Splurges online appear to differ from splurges off line.
People watching the Home Shopping Network might end up with many lifetime supplies of cubic zirconia and Ginzu knives. Many aspects of the Internet encourage impulsive or compulsive buying. For shy people, an Internet auction provides welcome anonymity. It's anonymous, it's private, and there is a sense of winning. The Internet can also empower shoppers, said Austan Goolsbee, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago, giving them the benefits of haggling and comparison shopping without making them take the chance of offending anyone face to face.