When I shop I go to the local store after I've researched the item online first. Yesterday I made the post-ice-age decision to set up the emergency supplies now so there is no excuse for their not being handy when I next need them. It could be in summer after a tornado goes through, not only just during an ice event. I will refurbish the camp stoves out in the garage (white gas burning so must be used outdoors) but am getting a propane burning small two-burner stove. REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated) and Academy Sports and Outdoors have local outlets, and carry various stoves. I looked at the copious reviews on Amazon, and except for the fact that local stores are completely out of stock of any gear to deal with the cold weather and lack of power, I could have purchased them locally. I will buy the propane bottles locally, those don't ship for obvious reasons.

My small portable power supply for charging the phone died last week so I've also replaced it (again reading reviews on Amazon, but also on the electronics review sites like CNet or ZDnet).

I'm sure there are people who still do impulse buying when they're in the store, but once you figure out about comparing online (and figure out if the reviews are real or compensated by the product seller - those are usually pretty easy to distinguish from the rest) it's more a matter of calculating the odds that a product will work the way you want without a catastrophic fail. Reading the one-star reviews first is how I approach these, and if they don't have at least 60-70 percent happy customers, I go to the next product for reviews.