With the advancements in technology, online shopping is now the most common way of shopping amongst people. It is not only in the Unites States but all around the world. Let us take for example, eBay which is an online buy and sell store. This store caters to the whole world. JJ’s House, on the other hand, is an online fashion store which ships worldwide. Not only these websites are online shopping stores. If you visit your Facebook account, there are a lot of members who are already selling on the platform.
There are a lot of advantages for selling and buying online however there are also disadvantages. Below are some of the advantages.
- With online shopping, you can browse a lot of styles and a lot of options. For instance, you are looking for a pair of wedding shoes, one site can show you options from flats to high heeled ones.
- Convenient – You can browse anytime, whether it be on your breaks or after work or for as long as it is free time without thinking of rushing some other things. Unlike for physical stores, you need to visit the store when you have an ample time; like on weekends or holidays when you do not have work.
- Midnight Stores – It is very rare that you see a midnight physical store, especially for clothing. There may be night markets in some places however you won’t be able to see the items properly especially if the night market is located just under the street lights. With online shopping, may it be midnight, you can still browse the site and place an order. You can also see how the items would look like.
- More options on sizing, colors – Online shopping allows you to filter the size, as well as the color of an item. You might be looking for pretty homecoming dresses or wedding guest dresses. For each of the styles, you can filter the color, as well as the, size. With regards to sizing, you can check the size chart of the specific item.
With advantages, there are always disadvantages that come along.
- You cannot touch nor try on the item and will just rely on the product description as well as the size chart provided online. For some, there will still be sizing difference. It will also be the case that the item may arrive and is not what is written on the product description.
- You won’t be able to see if you are ordering the correct color. Due to the screen resolution, the colors may appear different on your end. For some companies, they do offer color swatches which is of great help before placing an order, especially if it is an order of not just one item, but what if there’s none.
- Not as expected – There is also a possibility that you are waiting for an item and is expecting a high quality one for a cheaper price but when it arrived, it was not what you are expecting and will end up saying, “no wonder it’s cheap.” Meanwhile not all cheap items are low quality items as some online shops have their own factories wherein, they make their own products which in a way, making the items cheaper.
- Returns/refunds – This could be one of the hardest to deal with especially if the buyer did not read the terms and conditions completely.
Shopping online is in a way or the other advantageous. This is recommended if you are getting lazy going out, especially during summer/winter when the weather is not favorable. This is also recommended if you are in a rush as some online shops do ship in just 2-3 days, as compared to going to physical stores wherein you need to use all your energy looking for what you are looking and will end up buying nothing.
Meanwhile, when buying online, it is strongly advised to check all the terms and conditions before placing the order, especially the refund and return policies as this part is where most of the customers are not attentive to and will end up complaining when they receive the items.
