Travis Vocino Experiments in Art, Science & Technology.

Some 92.5 million consumers will buy online this holiday season, each spending an average of $263. I’m not one of them.

Why is that? I freaking love the internet. I love sitting at home on the couch browsing with my MacBook. However, when I want to buy something, I almost always concede to the instant gratification factor of just driving somewhere to get it right away.

Of course, I don’t think my lack of online spending is going to hurt anyone’s feelings. The holiday season’s impact on annual online spending is significant. US e-commerce sales are well on track this year to break the $100 billion mark, reaching $108 billion (and that’s not including plane tickets). Online holiday sales will account for 22% of the total. Online buyers will each spend about $1,055 in 2006 on merchandise purchased from web retailers.

Some 13% of holiday shoppers in November told the online market research firm Compete that they planned to spend their entire gift-buying budget over the Internet this holiday season. The entire budget? Doesn’t anyone want to get what they want right now? I understand that it’s not necessarily for you, as it is a gift, but still. I feel like an old man when I say, I like to touch and feel the crap that I buy the second after I buy it.

To make matters worse, some 54% said they planned to shop at discount online outlets like eBay, Overstock.com and Half.com. A quarter (24%) of respondents said they would shop with smaller, lesser-known Internet retailers as long as the price is the absolute lowest. What? … You’re going to go through the insanity that is eBay in order to save 1 or 2 dollars? In fact, you don’t even save anything in the end, honestly. Factor in the retarded shipping prices that people put on you, PayPal fees, and most importantly, your time. Now you’re coming out on the losing end of not just going to CompUSA or the mall and buying the stupid thing. Plus, you’d have it right now, which as we’ve already learned, I love.

Maybe I’m just a product of the “now, now, now” Nintendo generation, but I say no thanks to waiting for stuff in the mail. Pay the convenience charge and buy it at the store.