Online or Traditional Shopping
Shopping is a day to day practice. Shopping is a way of satisfying a consumer’s everyday needs and wants. There are two major ways which a consumer can purchase goods: online shopping and traditional shopping. These two means of obtaining goods and services have their merits and demerits equally. In today’s world people have embraced technology and by the use of computers and the internet one can purchase goods online through virtual stores. Online shopping has become acceptable and popular among various consumers.
Online shopping has proven to be quite convenient as it offers the best bargain deals to consumers as they can effortlessly weigh prices between various stores (Pour 2006, p. 30). In traditional shopping a consumer has to visit stores physically so as to evaluate the prices of a product. This can be both time consuming and tiring. Online shopping has no time limitations as consumers can shop at whatever time they desires. Online shopping reduces compulsive shopping where consumers end up buying goods that they didn’t need but because of good sales skills of some attendants in some stores. Traditional shopping may also compromise consumers shopping habits as there are no varieties in some stores and one is forced to buy what a store has to offer.
Calculate the cost of essay
However, online shopping has its flaws as the product bought online cannot be tested because it is not tangible, the consumer can only see the pictures of the product (Philosophe, 2012). This is as opposed to the traditional shopping where the consumer can test the product before buying it. Thus it is hard for a consumer to buy a faulty product. When making payments for a good purchase through traditional shopping there is flexibility as one can pay through cash credit cards and various other means of payment. In the case of online shopping payment is limited to credit cards. In online shopping the purchased product might take long to reach the consumer whereas in traditional shopping one takes the product home after the purchase.
However, these two ways of shopping carry some similarities with them. They both have some issues that arise concerning security advertisement and convenience (Philosophe, 2012). Some potential and actual online buyers have concerns about their credit card information being exposed by hackers. Similarly, some consumers who shop traditionally using credit cards may share these fears as some attendants may have access to the consumers’ credit card information. These employees may use this information to their advantage by either using this information to purchase their goods or trade this information. Both means of shopping also have challenges in coming up with ways of informing consumers about their products. In this time and age convenience has become a necessity to every consumer’s shopping experience. These two ways of shopping have their inconveniences. Online shopping can be inconveniencing in the process of delivering a product to the consumer as the shipping might take long whereas traditional shopping is inconvenient when searching for a product in the stores.
Conclusion
Online shopping has transformed the consumers’ shopping experience. However, the basics that induce the consumer’s buying habits remain the same. The common consumer is still in search for a variety of shopping avenues which are price friendly and offer quality service. However, certain aspects must be put into consideration when shopping online. A consumer has to make sure that the online store safeguards the consumers’ privacy and discretion (Philosophe, 2012). Also the consumer must ascertain a store’s good reputation from the great reviews of other consumers. The consumer must select a store that has a valid contact and consumer support. The online store must have a refund policy in case the product is not defective or does not meet the customers’ requirements. If a consumer follows the above policies online shopping can turn out to be convenient and trouble-free.