Stop Shop

A Chrome extension to help with online shopping addiction. Uses mindfulness techniques to help reduce impulsive or emotional spending.

This project is currently on hold.

Development Plan

v0

These are the basic features to include in the first version:

1. Check URL to determine if it's a shopping cart:
   • Check a shortlist of cart URLs (Amazon, eBay, etc)
   • Check for /...cart... in the URL
2. Block the cart page with a custom page:
   • Instruct user to take three slow breath. Create a "breathing" animation users can breath along with.
   • Ask a couple basic questions about the user's situation to prompt them to self-reflect before buying anything. Eg "What are you feeling right now?", "Is this within your budget?" etc.
   • Questions will have users select from several options, which will determine the next step.
   • There will also be a "this isn't a cart" option in case the URL is checked incorrectly.
   • Keep the page styling simple and minimal.
3. Depending on the answers to some questions, the user may be:
   • Directed back to the cart if (eg) they are feeling calm, thoughtful, and the purchase is within their budget.
   • Completely blocked from accessing the cart for a certain amount of time (2h, 24h, etc).
   • Sent back to the page if it is not a cart.

v1

Once the basic features are working, next steps are:

1. Expanded cart checking:
   • Allow users to keep a custom list of URLs, both for sites to keep unblocked and for sites to block that aren't normally detected.
   • Click on extension icon, have options to add sites to block/allow lists.
2. Improved questions/tasks on blocking page.
   • In addition to preselected options, add questions allow users to type their own answers and encouraging a journaling-style written reflection.
   • For most questions, there are no "right" answers, but there is space for users to type their answers.
   • For now, next step will still rely on the responses to predetermined options (but those options will also be expanded).
3. Improved styling, add branding (logo, etc)
4. Expanded actions:
   • Variable time blocks - different predetermined options result in longer or shorter time blocks.
   • Links to mental health resources, other online tools, etc.

v2

Increased customization:

1. Shared cart checking:
   • Give users option to share their custom cart lists, allowing for more consistent cart blocking.
   • Will count reports per URL, requiring a threshold to be passed before the change is shared.
   • Shared URLs will not overwrite users' custom lists.
2. Breathing animation extension: allow users to breathe with the animation indefinitely, and click to go to the next step.
3. Allow users to customize questions:
   • Edit/remove premade questions.
   • Add custom questions.
4. Add place for user feedback/support (contact form, donate button, etc)

v3+

Extras if it gets to this point:

1. Port to Firefox
2. More user customizations:
   • Colour customization for blocking page.
   • Set default block time.
3. Additional post-question actions:
   • Clickable feelings wheel
   • Save cart as PDF?
4. Some sort of mobile support?
5. Social support:
   • Sharing helpful questions
   • Connect with someone else who's also dealing with shopping addiction.
6. Etc?