Shopping online has only been becoming more and more popular recently, with so many stores switching or just adding online stores to supplement their income and grow the business. But I wouldn’t say that in store physical shopping has ever lost its popularity, many people still prefer this method over online shopping for a number of reasons which I’ll explain in this article.
I’ll start with some advantages of shopping online, then I’ll move onto the advantages of shopping in stores. At the end to close we’ll cover some disadvantages too, so stay tuned
5 advantages of shopping online
1 – Package tracking
With package tracking www.packages24.com now becoming more widely available, it means you can not be too worried if your parcel hasn’t turned up on time. You will a lot of the time receive updates from the company. Many companies offer this service from DHL, Hermes and Speedpack tracking. So not being able to track a package would now be considered old fashioned in the online shopping world.
2 – Stay at home!
I’m sure you heard that phrase a lot during the past year. But seriously, you can stay at home and have all your favourite things delivered to you. Without you needing to move a muscle.
3 – Better prices
It’s not unusual to find much better priced items online than you’d find in a store. Being able to have access to all these deals can be dangerous, be careful you don’t end up spending your whole paycheck on sale items.
4 – Convenience
No matter what time it is, you can order that jacket you’ve always wanted that’s now been put on a 24 hour sale. No need to rush to the store after work to make it before they close their doors, now you can relax and order when you’re at home after work. Or even if you don’t get caught, make your order at work.
5 – A need to be discrete
Maybe you want to order something that would be considered naughty, like some lingerie. Maybe you’re just a little too embarrassed to go to a physical shop and get it there. That’s ok everones different, many websites even will offer discreet packaging which is great if that’s what you’re looking for.
5 advantages of shopping in store
1 – Physically see the product
Shopping online can be risky, especially when you don’t have a money back guarantee. I personally have bought shoes for myself online, they didn’t end up fitting me very comfortably. But I’d already worn them for a week so I couldn’t make a return to the company. So being able to touch and feel the product is a great plus when it comes to shopping in store
2 – Get out of the house
So the opposite of what i said before, getting out of the house nowadays is a luxury to be honest. So when you get the chance, go for it! As it could be quite a long time till you can do it so freely again
3 – Professionals at your disposal
Depending on what you’re shopping for, whether it’s a new power drill or a new frying skillet. Having an experienced advisor in the store is always a great help to have access to. Maybe they could have all the answers to all the questions that you have about the specific product you have in mind.
4 – Instant gratification
Nowadays instant gratification is very looked down upon, it’s always used in a negative way. But you have to have some pleasure in your life, and having the certain product you want or need and getting it feels great doesn’t it. No need to wait or to track a package, you’ll have it there with you as soon as you leave the store it’s yours
5 – No shipping costs
One very frustrating thing about ordering stuff online can be the price of the shipping and packaging. So you see the price of the product you want, let’s say it’s a blue dress. The blue dress is listed at $60, it’s not a cheap dress but it’s beautiful so you go ahead with it, add it into the basket and suddenly it’s $70. Which is a significant increase, it also does massively depend on where you’re located in the world. So keep that in mind when ordering online. But in stores you won’t have to think about this, it’s there and its ready for you
Some disadvantages of both sides
So as you can see, each side has many advantages, but like anything in life there has to be some negative side to it. It can’t all be perfect. So I’ll go over one stand out disadvantage of each side starting with online shopping. So I’d say that the number one disadvantage of online shopping is not being able to touch or feel the product that you want to purchase, this can lead to you feeling unsure if it is the right decision for you.
Or you could end up ordering the product and it isn’t the correct size, or it doesn’t come in the colour that you ordered. So as you know, there are many possibilities. Now moving over to a disadvantage of shopping in stores. I think the main disadvantage is the prices, as they can be significantly higher than online stores leading to the possibility of you feeling unhappy with the purchase you made
So, which side wins?
I have to say for me personally, in store is the winner. Yes you’ll have to pay a little extra for the product maybe. But you get access to help in the store by a human being, you’ll be able to see the product, you wont pay for shipping or packaging fees and the cherry on top is that you’ll have another social interaction, which is becoming rare to have these days
