In , many shoppers chose to avoid the frantic crowds and do their holiday shopping from the comfort of their computer
Sales at online retailers gained by more than 15%, making it the biggest season ever
But people are also returning those purchases at record rates, up 8% from last year
What went wrong
Is the lingering shadow of the global financial crisis making it harder to accept extravagant indulgences
Or that people shop more impulsively — and therefore make bad decisions — when online
Both arguments are plausible
However, there is a third factor: a question of touch
We can love the look but, in an online environment, we cannot feel the quality of a texture, the shape of the fit, the fall of a fold or, for that matter, the weight of an earring
And physically interacting with