What is Bedtime Browsing!?

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Good question! Bedtime browsing is an increasingly recognised lifestyle browsing pattern whereby people are making their e-commerce transactions at ungodly hours when you’d expect everyone to be safely tucked up in bed.

Why on earth would people be online making mundane household purchases at 4am in the morning you say? Well studies have shown that with increasingly busy lives people are looking to liberate some of their recreational time and do their shopping while tucked up in bed (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/sleep-problems-smart-phones-blue-light-screen-time-browsing-social-media-a8935041.html).

There are a couple of points to draw from this new trend. From a store owner’s point of view, it means that there’s a potentially untapped audience that PPC advertising is missing out on. Lower competition for clicks means cheaper paid traffic. Often store owners will concentrate on ‘money’ times such as the ever popular Thursday evening (eBay shopping primetime) despite increased competition.

Another slightly more sinister observation is that it’s another manner in which mobile phone addiction is affecting our social lives and sleep patterns. There’s a proven link between the increase in insomnia and overuse of mobile phones at bedtime (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/put-the-phone-away-3-reasons-why-looking-at-it-before-bed-is-a-bad-habit/). The brain struggles to turn off and get ready for bed after intense stimulation from the likes of social media.

So bedroom browsing is a thing, while much of the world sleeps, 1 in 15 e-commerce transactions are happening between midnight and 6am. If you’re an advertiser it might be worth not ignoring the early hours. If you’re a consumer, it might be worth reading the study linked above instead of shopping for bed linens!