Online Shopping

The internet is all around us and part of virtually every one’s day to day life. Is it better use it for shopping or not?

Initially, provided you know what it is you want, shopping online can save a considerable amount of time. A few clicks with the mouse, purchase done, time saved.

Making price comparisons while shopping online is very easy to do. Provided you know what it is you’re after, you can see if you’re getting the best deal out there in just a few clicks. The other way of finding the best deal, particularly for services, like insurances, is to use a price comparison site.

These sites, such as Money supermarket or Go compare etc. Will do the comparisons for you in virtually no time.

Shopping online uses none of your petrol, car running costs, or even car parking fees. It opens the concept of finding that item, and it might be 300 miles away, and you having no worries buying it. You probably wouldn’t entertain the idea of driving that distance to pick up, say, a pair of shoes, but with one click of the mouse, you will have them delivered soon.

It is very easy to inspect the range available from online retailers, the size, the colour, the style and availability. These stores can almost always offer a larger variety than bricks and mortar high street shops, given that they mostly work out of large warehouses rather than back room stock.

You can easily see if the item is actually in stock, and if not, how long it will take to replenish.

Another advantage of online shopping is that it is “open” for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week every day of the year. It allows you to browse in your lunch- break, or at home in your pyjamas, or any time at your convenience, not theirs.

There are, as with most things, some disadvantages. Other than digital products such as music, there will almost always be a delivery charge. This often depends on the size and weight of the article, the bigger and heavier, the higher the delivery charge which in some cases could mean it’s cheaper to buy locally.

Another small, but significant difference is that when you buy that item in a high street shop, you leave with it on your person, you have it, it’s yours, there and then. The online purchase will arrive when it is delivered, and you (or someone) may have to be at home to receive it.

Some people feel uneasy about financial security when online, and consider shopping online a risk too far to take.