[2023-12-12] Reconnaissance browsing

Retirement gives me the luxury of time to engage in something my daughter and I call "reconnaissance browsing." Rather than go shopping with the intent to buy, we go reconnaissance browsing with the intent to survey the landscape, to see what's out there, to get ideas for an eventual purchase.

Today, for example, I was at a shopping mall with my husband. While we didn't end up buying anything, I was able to do some valuable research on behalf of my daughter. I knew that she was looking for a new purse, so I checked out a few locations. One store held significant promise—so much so that my daughter and I decided to meet there after work. She ended up finding the perfect purse in that location, though not one of the handbags I had scouted earlier in the day.

Reconnaissance browsing is perfect when I'm not under pressure to buy something immediately (and I try to avoid being in that situation). I often take pictures of products and prices, making note of potential presents and purchases. I have three categories when I reconnaissance browse:
  1. OMG, this is perfect! (I buy it immediately.)
  2. Hmm, this is promising. (I take a picture and resolve to think about it some more.)
  3. Nothing to see here. (I move on to another store.)
Sometimes, I'll go back and buy one of the items in the second category, but often I don't, concluding that I don't want the thing after all.

I find that reconnaissance browsing takes the stress out of shopping, especially at this time of year when I'm not only trying to comparison shop but also fretting over whether this thing I'm contemplating will be liked by my loved one. I have had particular success when I go reconnaissance browsing with the person I'm trying to shop for, especially my daughter. She can point out things that she loves, and, later, I can return on my own to pick up one or more of her selections.

When my daughter and I go reconnaissance browsing and come home empty handed, we don't see it as a waste of time. We always come away with information, even if it's that a particular store does not have what we're looking for. It's like entering a word in Wordle and learning that none of the letters in our chosen word are in the actual puzzle. "Well, we now know that those five letters are not in the puzzle," we'll say, and move on to a new word.

It's all reconnaissance.