Tipsy shoppers hit the Web

Buying under the influence popular pastime for many

MONICA CORCORAN

- Los Angeles Times

"It's the vodka nights that really get me into trouble," says Kelly Krause, with a sigh. "I once woke up and I had spent $700."

Not on martinis. Krause, an independent film publicist with Los Angeles-based firm mPRm, doesn't need a bar stool for her idea of a bender. On Mondays, she sips pinot grigio, watches "The Hills" and then visits SeenOn.com to buy accessories from actress Lauren Conrad's wardrobe. Friday nights involve vodka tonics and a hot date with NeimanMarcus.com.

About those Tory Burch flats? "I own several pairs, and I don't recall buying one of them sober," she says.

BUIs -- those who buy under the influence -- may be the Internet's dirty little secret. (Then again, how dirty can you feel when you wake up spooning your keyboard?) With retail e-commerce up 19 percent to $136.4 billion in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, it's not shocking to realize some people are boozing and browsing.

Over at online boutique Shopbop.com, traffic doesn't spike after happy hour. In fact, according to the Reston, Va., online research firm comScore, e-purchases made by women in the evening hours total only about 22.6 percent of all online retail sales. But Internet sellers know all about consumers who click on a Marc Jacobs dress and slur, "Hey there, frock. I want to take you home tonight."

"People definitely do it all the time," says Shopbop spokeswoman Alle Fister. "It's click, click, click after a few cocktails."

Across the pond, Brits are much more upfront about the phenomenon. There's a book titled "Shopping While Drunk: Confessions From Modern Life," and British research firm Conchango deemed the syndrome BLOTO (Buying Loads of Tat Online) in 2005.

Much like drunk-dialing an ex-lover, the impulse to buy becomes an urge that quickly blurs into a must. Suddenly, that $850 David Yurman amethyst and 18-karat gold ring doesn't seem like a silly splurge. It's a reward.

"I looked at that ring and thought, `I work hard and I deserve it,' " says Denise Weaver, co-founder of Spin Shoppe Canvas, a PR firm based in Los Angeles.

Weaver usually hits the e-racks at 9:30 on weeknights while sipping pinot noir or a petite syrah. "I never would have treated myself to that ring if I wasn't buzzed, and I love it."

Others are emboldened by a few drinks to flirt with outfits and accessories they typically would avoid. "When I drink and shop, I always think I am a size smaller, and I go for much funkier clothes than my usual black dresses," Krause says. "I buy plaid or polka dots. I once bought a canary-yellow dress."

Fittingly, it's "Last Call" -- NeimanMarcus.com's perpetual blowout sale that offers merchandise up to 70 percent off -- that hooks many BUI offenders. Weaver dabbles in American Apparel online and eBay, too. She sometimes can't recall where she made her last purchase.

"These boxes show up, and I am like, `Oh, my God. I did it again,' " she says.

Any retail remorse easily can be erased with a click, as nearly every online retailer accepts returns -- no questions asked. It's that option that keeps most BUI offenders from unplugging their keyboards before they uncork a bottle.

"It's fun," Krause says, "and it's the only thing you can do after a few drinks and not have any regrets."