The way we shop has gone through a lot of changes over the past few years, especially with the introduction of online shopping. Increasing consumers, as well as sellers, have hence ventured online for buying and selling.
That being said, the old debate of online shopping vs. . in-store shopping has always been at the forefront when someone is newly venturing into the online world. Is online shopping advantageous, or is it still better to shop in-store? Well, both ways of shopping have their aspects—some good and some not so good—so the ultimate choice will be yours to make. However, here are some pointers to help you make the decision.
Online Shopping vs. In-Store Shopping:
Online Shopping:
- The time factor: Online shopping is very convenient as it saves time and effort required to go to a store and shop. Instead, consumers can conveniently shop right from where they are and get the product directly delivered to the desired address. Do understand that delivery is going to take time, so that the actual possession of the product will happen later.
- Personalized experience: Online stores today make use of AI and big data and accordingly provide consumers with personalized experiences like personal emails, remainders, suggestions based on previous purchases or preferences, notifications of the latest sales, etc. This is a great experience if consumers are okay with their data being used.
- Safety: When it comes to online shopping, cybercrime and fraud are major problems. However, with proper precautions like purchasing from secure ‘https://’ websites that have a padlock sign, not sharing unnecessary details, avoiding online fraudulent sites, not paying using a public network, etc., shoppers can be safer.
- The outreach: Online shoppers can shop from anywhere around the globe. No matter what you need, you can get it from a variety of online stores in any country in the world.
- Choices and Prices: Online shopping offers a huge variety of products to choose from. Even sellers can be easily compared with comparison sites like GoBazzar, PriceRunner, etc. so that there are choices in terms of prices and saving money becomes easier.
Offline Shopping:
- The time factor: offline shopping requires the shopper to spend time and effort getting to the store and shopping. On the other hand, you get immediate possession of the product, i.e., there is immediate gratification.
- Personalized experience: When shopping in-store, consumers can see, hold, feel, and even try on a product to check the fit. They also interact with salespeople to get suggestions about what would better fit their needs. Overall, this is a very physical and personalized experience. Of course, there is an off chance of experiencing sales pressure, but that is minimal.
- Safety: Consumers may feel offline shopping is safer than online shopping due to increasing cyber crimes and fraud. However, venturing outside to carry money also comes with threats of theft—physical, if not cyber. It finally boils down to proper precautions.
- The outreach: When shopping in-store, there is no global outreach, and the shopper is restricted to a specific region. However, on a positive note, it gets consumers to buy from their locality and supports the economy within their community.
- Choices and Prices: In-store shopping has fewer varieties to offer. Also, the price comparison of several sellers to find the cheapest option is not feasible. Thus, there are fewer choices in products and prices.
These are some of the aspects included in online and in-store shopping that can be considered by consumers before making a decision.