The number of people shopping online has been increasing every year. In fact, last year in the United States as well as the United Kingdom, one in five consumers did all of their Christmas shopping online, according to the Econsultancy Christmas 2013 Online Shopping Survey Report.
This trend definitely isn’t going away, and for many reasons. Here are just 16 of them.
- You can shop in your PJs, your bathrobe or even nothing at all if you’re so inclined.
Not that we’re condoning it or anything, but you can sneak in a little shopping while you’re at work. Spending a few minutes stopping by your favorite online retailers is a lot less noticeable than taking a 2-hour trip to the mall at lunch.- You’ll save money on gas, tolls, parking and even wear and tear on your car.
- Online stores never close, which means night owls can shop to their heart’s delight at 3 am if they choose.
- Your wallet or purse won’t be stuffed full of receipts.
- It’s easier to find the items you’re looking for. After all, stores don’t have a search box.
- You can look through product reviews before making your decision. At the store, the only way to do this would probably be to yell out to other customers and ask if they’ve ever purchased such-and-such.
- There’s no need to endure annoying sales pitches from commission-only clerks. If a chat window pops up online, all you have to do is close out. Unfortunately, there’s no way to do that in person.
You won’t have to battle for a parking space and potentially get into a rather ugly fight – or circle the parking lot endlessly hoping someone will eventually leave.- You won’t have to leave your dog at home, feeling guilty as his sad eyes watch you go out without him.
- You’ll probably get a better price online as it’s easier to compare deals – it’s not really feasible to drive to 20 different stores to find out who really has the best bargain. Online shopping make comparison and research of products and prices possible too.
- You’ll avoid pickpockets and purse snatchers.
- You can take your time to figure out if you really want to purchase an item. Just put it into your virtual cart – if you still want it after a day or two, it’ll still be there (in most cases anyway.)
- There’s no waiting in line, which means you can potentially save a huge chunk of time. During the holiday season there are few people who can’t use some extra time.
- You can shop around the world from the comfort of your home. Unless you happen to be Santa and have eight flying reindeer, or a private jet, that’s not happening in the real world.
There are many other reasons for shopping online. What are yours?
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
https://econsultancy.com/reports/christmas-2013-online-shopping-survey-report
