consumer lock-in

When some consumers find themselves stuck with a certain routine or living space they are experiencing consumer lock-in. Lock-in is defined by a New York Times article as the decreased likelihood to search for, or change to, another option once an investment in something has been made (New York Times, 2012).  Everyone that has ever rented an apartment knows the lock-in feeling when they think about moving to another place. They realize how hard it was to move all of their furniture the first time and how they will have to put up money for a deposit again as well as finding friends to help them move.  I found this term on an article about cohabitation before marriage and how it can lead to more divorce among young couples because they live together out of convenience and lower costs instead of love.  They then find it hard to break up because they are so comfortable in their living space and the consumer lock-in costs are way to high. This is what some researchers are attributing a large portion of young divorce too. But if cohabitation comes from the right place than the  researchers believe its a safe thing to do. Why do we seem to get ourselves into situations that we become locked into? If only we took more time in the beginning and thought a little harder about our decision than there might be less instances of consumer lock-in.  Moral of the blog is, think about your big life decisions with all the time that it takes. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html?_r=1&emc=eta1