Life Reflections
Online vs Offline Shopping
Subjective Preference Or Objective Choice?
Shopping. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman, or if you love it or hate it, in this day and age you have to do it. From food to clothes, cars to houses, boilers to toys, and millions of other things, either they are built or cultivated, need acquiring through this special quality of life invention called shopping.
This most likely seems like a 1st and 2nd world topic of discussion. I know that there are places in the world where people are still hunting for food and gathering berries without any technology being involved. I know there are regions in the world where people are barely getting by. But that is a different subject altogether that we will talk about some other time.
In the meantime, let’s talk about what kind of shopping we prefer and why.
Is It Only About Choice?
Maybe not. Actually, for me, it kind of separates into multiple categories, and I think this is why there won’t be a future where online shopping will win or vice versa. They will continue to coexist and influence one another. It’s probably best if I give you some examples. So here are some ideas in no particular order, with no specific predilection.
The Personal Touch
Let’s think about food for a second. From vegetable markets to small grocery stores and giant supermarkets, they all jumped on the online selling bandwagon. That in itself is very good, as you are given choice, and that in itself is a very positive thing.
I don’t have the mood, time, or interest to go grocery shopping every few days or every single week, and the fact that you can have someone do that for you is great.
On the other hand, there are benefits to doing your own grocery shopping. Sometimes, I don’t know what to cook and get inspiration from what I see on the shelves. There are times when a product that I want is not available, so I make a fraction of a second decision to replace, renounce or replan what I had in my mind. I also like to see what’s new or fresh, feel the smells and grab some views.
Fit And Trial
Trying new clothes and especially shoes needs to be done in a physical location. I’ve bought the occasional sweater or t-shirt online, and it’s generally been fine, but I still like to go to a shoe or clothes store and try it on for size and fit the things I want to buy. Yes, you can easily return the things that don’t fit or maybe don’t look as you’ve hoped, but in this particular aspect, I am more of a hands-on kind of guy.
Socializing
No better time to chat and meet up with your partner or with friends than on a shopping session. It is a good ‘get out of the house’ incentive. Kind of hard to do that while shopping online, unless your Skype-ing or Facetime-ing one another. Still, not the same.
Time Saver
This undoubtedly goes to online shopping. It is so easy to open a store page, search for what you want to buy, and be done in 5 or 10 minutes. There is no more getting ready, waiting, traffic, or walking up and down a busy store looking for something that might not even be there. Big plus here for virtual shoppers.
Money Saver
When there’s the time involved, there’s also money right after. You might easily find deals online or easily apply vouchers (yes, of course, you can find deals in physical stores, but just saying). You save money on gas and even pollute the atmosphere less.
There’s also the fact that when you’re going into a store, you might spend more money than you intended. You see this and that and ‘remember’ that you have to buy some things that might not need right there and then. Just have a second thought.
Relax And Enjoy
You can enjoy both. Some people enjoy going about and getting their shopping groove on. It can be a pleasant activity in itself. Others, despise it and find it exhausting and boring. No matter on which side of the fence you are, try to enjoy it. Don’t look at it as a chore and more like something new to do and explore.
Final Choice
No, I don’t think it has to be a choice, and that’s the beauty of it. You can use any method that benefits your needs. You can be busy, you can be lazy, you can do it for the social part, or for the time part, it doesn’t matter. In a society that’s full of consumers, it would only seem fit that those consumers get choices and rewards for their investment.
We evolve and want better and faster things, it is only natural that all the things around us get upgraded with our evolution.
I order a lot of stuff online, and for the most part, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The perfect word for it: Convenient.
At the same time, I enjoy the bi-weekly or weekly planned shopping run. It feels different and has that social connection we all need.
And you? Are you all digital or all physical?
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