Compare Shopping Online with Traditional Shopping Essay

Traditional shopping is going directly to the physical stores and purchasing the items whereas online shopping is purchasing the items from merchants who sell on the Internet. Since the emergence of the World Wide Web, merchants have sought to sell their products to people who surf the Internet. Online Shopping is widely perceived as a cheaper and easier way of finding lower prices and bargains in most sectors. However, both online and traditional shopping media are synergy to one another and yet still have several similarities and differences. Shopping online gives the user the opportunity to search for the product they want through endless avenues. Shopping online could be a great option because it can be time effective especially for those who have a busy life style or are just too lazy to get up to go to the store. The world of online shopping can make it easier to price shop. Instead of having to drive from store to store looking at prices only to find that, the best price was at the first store, you could simply switch from window to window on your computer. Also with online shopping, you can have items delivered right to your door. In addition, there is always the possibility of having to pay shipping costs when shopping online. Many online stores that will ship within a certain area free but many times if you are located outside of the city or area you will need to pay immense shipping prices. Companies have been trying to improve this negative aspect of online shopping by making deals like â€Å"spend over $200.00 and get free shipping†, but not all sites offer these deals. Security is another concern when it comes to online shopping. With online shopping, there is no way for you to know if someone is stealing your data. You do not even know if you will actually get the items, you purchase. This renders online shopping a bit more unsecure. By shopping in a traditional store, you can avoid shipping costs because you can simply take your items home with you after you purchase them. Customers can purchase the products directly by making selections by watching, touching, smelling, tasting, etc. They are near and easily available to the customers. Therefore, they can get the items immediately. Customers can get numerous options to purchase anything at lower prices at any time. There is less confusion, because the customer shops directly from physical stores. Customers can save money by getting the products at lower prices and by getting discounts from local storeowners. Generally, storeowners give excellent discounts for regular customers. Shoppers can also compare prices in different stores so that he or she can purchase an item at a lower cost and with good quality. Shoppers can also visit many stores, so he or she has several choices to store in different stores. If the shopper is not satisfied with products in one store then he can move to another store and purchase. Traditional shopping can be a recreational activity and it can be exercise for shoppers. It is easy to return the product, if the customer gets the incorrect product or a damaged product. There is no worry about security, such as fraud and lack of privacy in online shopping. Online shopping has grown to new heights over the last decade and shows no signs of regressing. The internet has brought practically every store in the world to the fingertips of anyone with internet access. Online shopping has grown so large that many companies are not investing in buildings and mall space, but rather in online websites and web advertising. Traditional shopping does have its positives, in terms of reliability and safety. Though online shopping is a global phenomenon, traditional shopping will not evaporate any time soon. In concluding, it is important, as an individual, to research whether online shopping or traditional shopping is effective for you, as both have its own hindrances. Source: Amy, Nutt (2009). Traditional Vs Online Shopping. Retrieved November 28, 2012 from http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt Darrell, Rigby (2011). The Future of Shopping. Retrieved November 28,2012 from hbr.org/2011/12/the-future-of-shopping