My doorbell rang, and for the third time that week, I opened the door to find the postal carrier standing on my front porch.
Once again, he had trudged along my icy path to bring me a package too big for the mailbox.
“Wow,” I joked. “We’re really making you earn your paycheck this week!”
He grinned back at me good-naturedly.
“Well, like I told the lady down the street: Stop orderin’ stuff!”
Chances are, your letter carrier is feeling the same way this month. More than ever before, online retailers are picking up a piece of the Christmas spending season. I’ve done my fair share of the “sit ‘n shop” routine. Even my mom, who swears she hates the computer, has placed several orders online.
It’s obvious why, even in a tight economy, we’re so willing to take our dollars to the Web instead of the store:
There are more colors, sizes and varieties available online.
There are no rude shoppers cutting in line. (Although sometimes the computer might get in a huff and shut down at an inopportune moment.)
You don’t have to pile on a coat, boots and mittens.
No need to hire a baby sitter.
Two words: Free shipping.
Some 80 percent of online retailers offered free shipping this winter, as a way to entice shoppers who otherwise might have opted for more frugal shopping methods. Early predictions indicate they may be right: Nearly half of online stores say they expect sales gains of at least 15 percent, according to the National Retail Federation.
In all, women seem to be restraining our inner shoppers this year — or at least we want to. The retail federation’s early surveys showed that consumers planned to spend an average of 3.3 percent less this year than in the past. Of course, anyone who has made — and subsequently blown — a household budget knows that good intentions don’t always follow through to reality.
So we’ll find out come January if we really could keep our credit cards in our wallet more this season.
Of course, with the shopping deals out there, it may be possible to spend less while actually getting more. If you have the money to spend this year, there are great deals to be had.
Last weekend, a friend told me she walked into a department store and was greeted by an employee who was handing out coupons. Another friend reported that she got a $60 sweater for $15, which completely trumped my buy-of-the-day: A $62 pair of pants for $23.
