Although the trend in commerce is continuing to move towards increased transactions in the online environment, strangely a number of people still have some aversion to shopping online. Whilst there are definitely a number of obvious advantages to shopping online there are a number of downsides which we will explore below.
The Pros of Shopping Online
First on the list for all proponents of online shopping is the convenience factor. There is simply no way to beat the ease of picking out exactly what you want from your living room chair with nothing more than a finger movement. You don’t have to dress up, fight traffic or deal with a lousy salesman – you just find what you want, click it and it’s yours.
Another definite advantage to shopping online is the reach that e-commerce has. Many businesses are able to offer much more inventory online than they are in ny physical store. The reason for this is simple: It is difficult and costly to ship items that are not assured of sale to stores that could span the entire radius of the world, in the case of some companies. If you are looking for that rare piece from Paris, you would be better off looking on the website of the company than you would actually going to the storefront.
Another huge advantage of online shopping is the deals you can find and the ability to easily compare the price of different company’s side-by-side. When you walk into a store and ask a salesman his opinion on whether to make your purchase here or at the store of a competitor, the answer is usually quite predictable. However, today comparisons between competitors can be made far quicker online.
In order to deal with this increased competition, many businesses offer deals online that they do not offer offline.
The Cons of Shopping Online
Generally with every new technology comes a way for unscrupulous people to exploit it. As a result online shopping is seen by some as less safe than handing over cash to an individual at a storefront and getting an immediate receipt under the watchful eye of company cameras. However, businesses and governments across the world are working together to create a safer experience for online consumers. Both the public and private sector now know that they must encourage online commerce in order to continue growing world economies.
As the cost of drawing up a website can be virtually nil, anyone can do it. This means that you must be extremely careful about whom you share your financial information with online, no matter how impressive the website looks.
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