Should you shop that late-night advertisement? It's probably too good to be true, experts say

Tis the month for New Year’s resolutions — lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more — but perhaps one unsung aspiration should be this: to squelch after-hours shopping on social media. 

Instagram, Facebook and other sites are siren-like seducers for folks on a scroll, not only interrupting sleep patterns, but luring consumers in for products that are sometimes a total waste of money. What is the allure of shopping from bed at 2 a.m.?

According to the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Shawn Grain Carter, an associate professor of fashion business management, there are plenty of reasons for it. First, she says, “It’s retail therapy, it makes you feel good and happy,” adding that other causes are insomnia, stress, convenience and loneliness. “The lifestyle, spawned particularly during the pandemic, makes it more compelling to shop on your phone. There are no boundaries from work life and leisure now. It’s a seamless experience," she adds.

And it’s not like marketers are unaware of the trend. “They see when someone logs on, how they pay, when and what they put in their cart. Credit and debit card analytics are showing that more and more consumers are starting to shop after midnight,” she explains. 

How do they entice you? Advertisements, Carter says, "imply that you are deficient in some way; that this product will make you whole." That notion may be amplified in the late hours.

Aside from bad purchases, Dr. Michael Breus, a board-certified sleep specialist who runs the sleep health-focused website thesleepdoctor.com, says the midnight shopping spree is not helping you catch those all-important "Zzzs." “The process of falling asleep does not involve starting a new cognitive activity. It’s the opposite. It’s slowing things down and lowering stimulus. Being on your phone is neither. It’s engaging, not calming.”    

Shopping flops

Drawn in by slick ads and incredibly low prices, more than a few night owls have found their purchases disappointing. Fern Mallis, 74, of Southampton, the creator of New York Fashion Week and host of the Fashion Icon series, is a fashion connoisseur, yet was enticed by dresses that popped up on her Instagram stories bar. 

“I couldn’t get over how beautiful they were,” she says of the $22 garments. “When they came, they were the worst possible fabrics and the sizes were totally screwed up. There was no way to return, so I just donated them. That’s the last time I buy from an unknown source.”

Mallis habitually takes a last look at Instagram before she goes to sleep and says, “I get hooked and once you’re there, it totally sucks you in. I inevitably end up with some kitchen gadget. I have bought one dress I like and a lot of silly stuff at night and when it comes I’m like, ‘What is this? Why did I buy this?’ but I’ve learned that when it’s so cheap and it seems to be too good to be true, it is.”

Some get roped into more than they bargained for when they buy at night, like teacher Debbie Reynolds, 52, of Oyster Bay, who promotes reading for kids on her Instagram @boredwithmissreynolds. "I got up and saw leggings that were two for $10 and they looked really good.” She wore them once, and didn’t like the fit or the feel, and besides that, missed the fine print and ending up getting billed for a couple of months of an activewear subscription. “It taught me a $100 lesson — that’s a lot of money. Since then, no more shopping at night.”

Buying in the wee hours is a recurrent theme for Ashley Diamond, 33, a fashion sales executive. “I used to be so good about not sleeping next to my phone,” she says. “Now, I check my email and go down the rabbit hole of shopping. You’re looking at things that you would never look at in a store.”

Recently, she clicked on three differently-sized sweatshirts for her dog, Pickles, none of which fit. “I didn’t take the 10 minutes to get out of bed and measure him,” she says of the unreturnable purchase. She’s had a few successes though, including a favorite $25 Ascot & Hart trucker hat that she spotted Jared Leto wearing too. 

Though more than 60% of bedtime shoppers are women, notes Carter, citing national data and studies, men fall prey too. Eric Forman, 59, an advertising executive from Port Washington is one of them. “I like to think I’m not a sucker, but it’s late at night and you’re scrolling and all of a sudden you’re hitting Apple Pay. You’re in your own little bubble and no one’s judging you.”

He’s had some real misses, as in the case of what looked like a pretty good replica of a $90 Adidas sweatsuit for $19. “I tossed it. I don’t think it would fit an 8-year-old or an elf,” he says. Likewise, for the Lululemon knockoff shorts he dubbed “horrible.” On the flip side, there’s the anti-snoring device that works for him and a neck massager that actually relieves his pain.

“I’d love to be able to sleep for eight hours and I know it’s not a good idea to sleep with the phone at your side, but there’s always something cool and new on the internet," he says. "I just love gadgets and advertising.”

How to fix it 

Truth told, you’ve heard it before, but listen to someone who knows. Lauren Hale, professor of family, population and preventive medicine at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine (she’s an expert on the social patterns of sleep), says, “The best advice is to charge your phone in a central location in your home, typically your kitchen, away from where you sleep … Ideally, you use the added time to connect with friends/family in person, relax without a reliance on digital media and fall asleep earlier and easier.”

The sleepdoctor.com’s Dr. Michael Breus says if you’re not going to comply with moving your device, at least time your spree. “Set a timer for 20 minutes if you are going to scroll, lower the brightness on your phone and wear blue light blocking glasses.”

Finally, if you’re incorrigible (and, admit it, many of us are) here’s some advice from evening shopper and Instagram-marketer, Lisa Zampolin, 50, of Massapequa, who owns the Love Lisa  jewelry brand.

“I would have a house full of junk if I didn’t learn one lesson,” she says of her purchase of some ill-fitting holiday socks for her kids made from “terrible material,” that came 60 days after she ordered them. “When I see something I like, I always do research to make sure it’s a legitimate business and I check the source,” she explains, adding that she buys from brands she knows and trusts. And, she prefers products made by local manufacturers and boutiques. Though she hasn’t had any disasters since the socks, she admits, “I do still shop at night, even though know it’s not the best idea.”