8 Tips to Control Your Online Shopping Habits

1.   Delete your shopping apps

Mobile apps make online shopping so much more convenient — and hard to resist. You can save later anyway, but ordering that cool and hip product you saw on your feed with just a tap of a button is so tempting. Unfortunately, giving in to this lifestyle can easily drain your bank account.

One way to prevent this from happening is to delete your shopping apps. If you think this is too big of a change, you can try breaking up from online shopping apps for a week at first. You may find that by removing the source of urges makes it easier to manage your online shopping habits.

2.   Remove ease of access

When it comes to credit or debit cards, you'll need to delete any saved card information from your browsers. Your payment information is frequently stored in your internet browser for convenience; however, if you want to reduce your spending, you must make it harder for yourself to make transactions.

By removing your card information, you will be unable to make a purchase without first thinking about it and physically getting up to retrieve your credit or debit card.

Digital wallets have also made online shopping more convenient. These wallets function in the same way as saving your payment information in your browser. Again, you'll need to remove this ease of access so that you can't buy as easily.

3.   Give yourself a waiting period

Many online shoppers make unplanned purchases when they see an item on sale or something that catches their eye while "just browsing." While treating yourself occasionally is fine, making frequent unplanned purchases can quickly deplete your budget.

Implement a mandatory waiting period before purchasing something online to slow yourself down. Some people make themselves wait at least 24 hours, while others wait 72 hours or longer.

You can also try this short-term waiting strategy: When you see something you like, put it in your shopping cart and then go for a brisk walk outside or call a friend to tell them about it. This will often clear your mind and help you realize you don't really need it.

4.   Block sites

If you are a self-proclaimed shopaholic hiding under the defense mechanism of retail therapy, deleting apps, removing ease of access, or even giving yourself a waiting period before a purchase may not be enough. That is if you still find yourself crawling shopping sites for your latest purchase fix.

Instead of trusting yourself not to visit these sites, you should make it impossible for you to visit them.

You can do this by blocking the websites in your browser. This is simple to do with browser extensions that are specifically designed to block unwanted websites.

5.   Get rid of your credit cards

Getting rid of your credit cards is one way to stop online shopping. Credit cards can become an enabler of bad spending habits if they are not used wisely. After all, they provide you with access to funds that you may not otherwise have.

You can only spend as much money as you have if you get rid of your credit cards. This will drastically reduce the amount of money you can spend on unnecessary purchases.

6.   Unsubscribe

Email marketing is another method companies may use to entice you to buy. Every day, brands compete for space at the top of your inbox to encourage you to shop from them. That is why it is your responsibility to get them out of your inbox!

Click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email to stop them from contacting you. This will eliminate the desire to visit their website and make a purchase.

Alternatively, text message marketing has grown in popularity as a form of advertising. That's because competing for priority in an inbox is much more difficult and you're more likely to receive a text message than an email.

You should also unsubscribe from these messages. In most cases, simply texting 'STOP' will remove you from their contact list.

7.   Unfollow

Social media sites and apps can also be shopping triggers. In this case, it's best to unfollow and block brands that constantly promote their products, so they don't appear on your timeline. You can prevent advertisements by putting ad blockers on your browser and unfollowing these brands.

Another way to stop online shopping is to unfollow social media influencers and avoid triggers. It's easy to get lost in a haul video rabbit hole and spend hours watching products from various brands. This could easily lead to you spending money.

8.   Take a break from social media

Although social media has many perks, it also has several downsides to it. One of those is that it causes many to fall into depression, with the often-unrealistic nature that its users and social media influencers portray on a daily basis.

If you already unfollow and block brands on social media, you may want to take it further and take a break from social media entirely. This includes not logging in to these websites or apps for an extended period.

Getting off social media and away from your devices allows you to focus on the things that truly matter in life.

You can even use the time to experiment with a shopping ban and develop more productive habits to replace your desire to shop. It will also aid in eliminating some of your shopping triggers, such as seeing other people's purchases.