Last week I did something unprecedented: social media shopping. Specifically, I succumbed to a Facebook ad. While I can’t say too much about this, on the off-chance one of the two recipients is reading, I can say I think the gifts I purchased will be a hit this Christmas.
This was new to me, but definitely not to everyone. According to a CreditCards.com survey, nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of millennials say social media affects their buying decisions. By contrast, only 45 percent of my own age group copped to this kind of impact.
Ana Staples, an analyst with Bankrate.com, says it’s pretty easy to be influenced. In fact, she recently had to put herself on a “book-buying ban” after watching too many TikTok videos about reading. Staples realized she had months’ worth of reading material already stashed.
“Not my proudest moment,” she says.
To help the rest of us avoid impulse buying – and, maybe, Internet scams – Staples offers the following tips.