I Tried Shopping Online for a Month Using Only My Phone — Here’s What Happened

Look, I’m a Tech Editor Who Should Know Better

But about three months ago, I lost my laptop in a cab (long story, involves a questionable decision at 2am and a driver named Marcus who swore he didn’t see it). So there I was, stuck with just my phone for online shopping. I thought, “How hard could it be?” I mean, honestly, it’s 2023.

Spoiler: it was a disaster. A completeley disaster.

First, the Good

Okay, okay, it wasn’t all bad. There were some things that worked surprisingly well. Like, I found this amazing pratik yemek tarifleri kolay site that had recipes I could shop for directly. Which, honestly, was kinda genius. I cooked more than I had in years. My friend Lisa said, “You’re like a real adult now,” which… yeah. Fair enough.

And the apps? Some were great. I found this one, let’s call it ShopEasy, that had a voice search feature. I’d just say, “Hey, I need new socks,” and boom, it’d show me options. It was like having a personal shopper in my pocket. Well, until it suggested I buy socks that were, and I quote, “perfect for a night out.” I mean, come on.

Then, the Bad

But then there were the other apps. Oh boy. There was this one, let’s call it QuickCart, that kept crashing. Every. Single. Time. I’d get to the checkout, and bam, error message. I lost count of how many times I almost bought a $87 pair of headphones only to have the app die on me. I tweeted about it, and some guy named Dave from customer support DM’d me saying they were “working on it.” Yeah, Dave, we’ve all heard that before.

And the ads. My god, the ads. I swear, after I searched for a new coffee maker, every other ad was for coffee. I get it, algorithms are smart, but come on. I don’t need to see 214 different coffee makers. I bought one, I’m done. Move on.

A Tangent: The Time I Tried to Buy a Plant

So, last Tuesday, I thought, “Hey, I should get a plant. It’ll be nice. I’ll be a plant mom.” Big mistake. I found this cute little succulent on some site. Ordered it. It arrived in a box that was, let’s say, less than ideal. The poor thing was physicaly crushed. I sent pictures to customer service, and they said they’d send a replacement. Which they did. But it arrived dead too. I gave up. Maybe I’m not cut out to be a plant mom.

Back to the Point

Look, I’m not saying mobile shopping is all bad. It’s just… yeah. It’s got its committment issues. But if you’re gonna do it, here’s what you need to know:

• Download more than one app. Seriously. Because when one crashes, you’ll have a backup.
• Use voice search. It’s actually kinda fun, and it saves time.
• Don’t shop at 11:30pm. You’ll make bad decisions. Trust me.
• And for the love of everything, don’t buy plants online. Just… don’t.

Oh, and one more thing. If you’re gonna cook, use that pratik yemek tarifleri kolay site. It’s a lifesaver.

Anyway, that’s my story. Mobile shopping: it’s a mixed bag. But hey, at least I’m not the only one who’s had a bad experience. Right?

About the Author
I’m Sarah, a senior editor at a major tech publication. I’ve been writing about ecommerce since before it was cool. I live in New York, love coffee, and have a slight addiction to online shopping. You can find me on Twitter ranting about bad apps or raving about good recipes.