OnePoll conducted a study on behalf of Slickdeals that evaluated the tendency of Americans to feel buyer’s remorse. The survey of 2000 Americans showed that the participants were more likely to experience buyer’s remorse after purchasing things that weren’t as valuable as they initially thought (39%).
Other reasons respondents experienced buyer’s remorse were spending too much money on an item (32%) and not using something as much as they thought (34%).
Reasons Americans bought items they didn’t want
When asked what they blamed for their purchases, respondents mentioned things like seeing an item in their favourite colour (42%), low prices (42%), and good ads (43%). About 83% stated that they had made these purchases while shopping online drunk.
About 75% of participants said they hated approximately 15 of their purchases. Another 45% would hide away things they regretted buying. Others opted to exchange or return them (39%), while others gifted them (40%).
Americans are affected by delivery delays
The respondents were not only affected by buyer’s remorse but also experienced issues with shipping. About 63% would forget they had ordered something until it was delivered. Others wouldn’t even remember their order until they had opened the package (56%). Delay in delivery had affected many of the participants, with many saying they had experienced delays of approximately five weeks.
The respondents gave their reasons for the delayed delivery. These included the item being misplaced during shipping (38%) and items on backorder (38%). Another 36% stated that their items were occasionally diverted to the wrong places. Three in five had also lost packages during shipping. Fortunately, 72% of the participants weren’t bothered by the delays.
According to Slickdeals’ finance manager, Louie Patterson, buying things online is very convenient. However, despite the ease of buying things from your home, shoppers still face many difficulties.
Patterson urges Americans to look at the fees, return policies, and shipping costs before ordering an item online. He also warns them to be wary of scarce items sold for over MSRP. The reason is that many sellers hike the prices of items whenever there is a shortage.
Patterson adds that shopping online allows shoppers to view the product reviews and thus get the best items.
