1. The pros of online shopping

² Extensive product mix availability

With unlimited space, many online stores bring together a wide range of goods and products from different brands from different parts of the country or even of the world. Thousands of online stores offer us a more extensive range of selection of goods to choose from, thus we can have a higher chance to find exactly what we want.

² Cheap price

Because online retailers manage to reduce the overall cost in multiple ways, prices online are often 60 percent lower than those in brick-and-mortar stores and this even applies to some stores that have both an online and offline presence. In addition, with the rising fierce competition, online retailers often offer customers given-away gifts, online coupons, shopping points or cash back.

² Huge convenience

 If we have a computer with an Internet connection, shopping online is easy, convenient and time-saving. Firstly, we can shop for, buy and pay for an item we desire at any time and at any place with a few simple clicks of the mouse. Secondly, online shopping enables us to shop at thousands of online stores, browse through dozens of products to find just what we are looking for and pay for our purchases without leaving home. Thirdly, we can buy gifts online and have them shipped straight to distant family members or friends as a surprise. It saves us the trouble of buying the gifts in the stores, packing them carefully and then shipping them away.

² No travel costs

We all know that the costs of travel nowadays are certainly not cheap, and any way to cut back on the costs of travel should be taken advantage of. If we shop online, we don’t need to travel anywhere and we can get what we want at our fingertips, with our items delivered to our doorsteps. In this case, we are already saving ourselves the costs of travel.

² Great comfort

If we shop online, we don’t need to plan the shopping trip or to travel anywhere; we don’t need to spend hours walking different street stores one by one till we drop dead or to shove our way through a crowd or wait in a long queue at the cash register to pay our bill. We will feel great to shop from the comfort of our home, seating in our comfortable chair.

² Easy comparison shopping

Instead of running around to several different brick-and-mortar stores and trying to write down details such as prices and features, we can simply open websites to easily compare hundreds of or even thousands of items. Online shopping software allows us to do instant comparisons with clicks of the mouse by category, price, sales volume, features, etc. Besides, we can view user ratings, read customers’ reviews and compare features and qualities of a certain product we want. By doing quick comparisons, we can eventually make rational buying decisions.

2. The cons of online shopping

² Identity theft

Being a victim of identity theft is the most key worry for those who fear about online shopping. Before we can buy something online, the seller normally will ask us to complete a form or whatever with our sensitive personal information, including our real name, cell phone number, email address, mailing address and credit card information. There are some security risks of our personal data being accessed and potentially stolen by other people.

² High shipping costs

Another thing that usually turns customers off about online shopping is the need to pay for shipping, even though there are many sites that offer free shipping. In general, shipping costs are determined based by the price and weight of the product we ordered. Shipping costs can be a really big price when the parcel is heavy or comes from a far place. In addition, we have to pay for shipping if we have to return or exchange the item we purchased. It may cost us more money than we planned to spend if we add shipping costs to the final sale price of the item we want to buy.

² Inadequate product inspection

When shopping online, we are not able to touch the product we are considering buying, feel its quality, see its size and color and see everything in more detail. Instead, we can only rely on product photographs, product descriptions and customer reviews, which can’t guarantee that the product that will be delivered to us is not defective or that we won’t get scammed by unreliable sellers who promised us how good their product was. Thus, we are at a higher degree of risk of not getting the desired product.

² Urge to buy impulsively

On the one hand, the great convenience, comfort and ease of online shopping often encourage impulse buying. On the other, online retailers are so considerate to save our address and credit card information that we can buy anything we want in just a few minutes. Easy shopping also eliminates the feeling of spending money, because all we do is clicking the mouse.

² Waiting for delivery

In most cases, the item being purchased is supposed to arrive three days later, but online retailers generally don’t ship products immediately upon receiving an order. There might be inordinate delays before the intended item is actually packaged and shipped. Even worse, bad weather also increases a risk of delayed delivery.

² Lack of instant gratification

When we shop online, we have to wait a couple of days before we actually get to see what we ordered online, and we can’t get to use it or wear it right away but have to wait. This takes away the instant gratification that comes with purchasing an item at a store and taking it home with us straightaway.