“When you’re home all the time you start to realize all the small flaws with your living space, all the tiny things that could be improved with one $25.99 (plus shipping) purchase.”

Most of us are guilty of making irrational pandemic purchases while surfing the web at night, but sometimes-Marker-writer Maya Kosoff has gone a step further: She’s shared a list of her coronavirus splurge buys and rated each purchase by how effectively it eased her existential dread (i.e. 27 Muji pens = very effective). There’s a reason consumers have continued to buy nonessential or indulgent products even in the face of an economic catastrophe and public health nightmare — it’s called “shoptimism,” a form of retail therapy that eschews rationality in service of emotional relief, as explained by Marker senior writer Rob Walker in his story, “Why People Buy Luxurious Things In the Middle of a Financial Crisis.”

Everything I’ve Bought Online During The Pandemic