Penchant for persuasion turning me into a basket case

Like so many of us, I often pass hours of the working day shopping online when I should be writing. I’ll add a new moisturiser to one website basket and a few little deli items to another basket somewhere else, not really intending to buy, just having a browse. What other avenues of pleasure do we have, after all? But then I’ll order myself back to work, click away from the internet and try to concentrate. A few minutes later, up pops an email from those very sites: “We’ve saved your basket for you!” or, even more irritatingly coy, “Forgotten anything?” Imagine if a shop assistant did this as you tried to leave – “Madam! You ran your fingers over this cashmere jersey! Are you sure you don’t want it?” It’s creepy and invasive. Stop it, websites. If we want to buy anything, we’ll buy it. Otherwise, leave us virtually pottering.