By: Skyler Hires
Shopping is a past time that almost everyone enjoys. Throughout the years our shopping experiences have changed from retail consuming to the comfort of catalog order. Shopping has recently evolved into the twenty-first century of online shopping. Studies show that online sales have tremendously grown within the last two years. Rising from a mere 6.1 percent in 2016 and seven percent in 2018. Consumer purchase transactions are increasingly happening on the internet. Some consumers are now relying solely on the web to shop.
Purchasing goods online can give you the convenience of, privacy, and the widest variety you've ever seen or experienced in a retail store. On many occasions, the comfort of never having to leave your couch may be the blissful experience you've never dreamed of. Books, music, movies, video games, and toys are most likely to be purchased online rather than instore or retail according to annual research from Amazon. electronics, clothing, footwear, cosmetics, sports equipment, appliances, jewelry, DIY/home improvement, furniture, and groceries are usually being consumed by retail shoppers. One downside to online shopping is that you will not be guaranteed to whatever it is you are purchasing. For example: if you buy a size 4 in a shoe and the company delivers to you a 6, you really have no option to immediately return the product you're unhappy with. Whereas in retail stores you have the opportunity to try on and experience the product you’re interested in.
According to Digital commerce 360, Older millennials—those ages 32 to 37— make 43.0% of their purchases in stores and 57.0% online, making that group the most likely to shop in stores, the survey found. Millennials that are 27 to 31 years old make 38% of purchases in stores and 62% online. For millennials ages 22 to 26, the percentages are 39.0% and 61.0%, respectively. Angel Hires, 39 of Gibsonville, NC. Spends the majority of her sparse free time online shopping. With her schedule of being a wife and a stay at home mother of three, online shopping allows her the convenience of saving time from the hassle of retail shopping with two young children. Mrs. Hires can shop for groceries, household items, supplies and other essentials needed for living in a matter of minutes. All items will arrive at her doorstep in a timely fashion. Thus saving her hours per week in a retail environment.
Online shopping allows the consumer the benefit to shop wherever they have an online connection. Shopping online extends your product demographics by allowing the consumer to compare all their options globally and review each of their products. Consuming products online allows the customer to shop around the clock. Online shopping has many tools to keep the customer engaged within the savvy online experience. Many e-commerce has implemented notifications for sales; product restocks, and coupons to conveniently remind customers products are available by just a simple click of a button.
Although consumers spend significantly more per visit in a retail store than online, nothing beats the ease of shopping online. First Insight Report found that 71 percent of all shoppers surveyed, spent $50 or more when shopping in-store.
In conclusion, online shopping is utilized more frequently than retail shopping due to the almost effortless experience of consuming. Online shopping saves time, money, and the stressful hassle behind retail shopping.