Compare and Contrast Essay on Shopping Online and Shopping in Store

Introduction

Online shopping has become very lucrative with thousands of online stores being opened daily all over the world. Currently, we have online shopping websites and stores such as Amazon and Alibaba, and eBay. Online shopping started way back in the year 1995, with websites such as eBay and Amazon being the pioneers of online shopping websites (Shop.co 1). They still hold a huge chunk of the market share in this industry. Shopping in stores was very rampant before technology was introduced that could allow customers to shop at the comfort of their homes. The growth of online shopping has sparked debates as to what are the similarities and differences between online shopping and shopping in Stores. Online shopping is better than shopping in stores because of the time, costs, and freedom involved in either option.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Time: The Time Efficiency of Online Shopping versus Shopping in Stores

The first difference between online shopping and Shopping in stores relates to time (Schultz and Block 99). This involves time taken to complete the transactions. Shopping in stores can be very time-consuming. This is because of the long lines that characterize the stores, especially during holidays. A lot of time is also spent driving to the store and searching for parking space. Additionally, people who shop in stores do not have the freedom to shop at any time they want. Not all stores are open throughout the day and night all year long. On the other hand, online shopping consumes very little time. The only thing that the shopper requires is an internet connection and a mobile phone or a computer. Time may only be a hindrance because the goods that are purchased need to be shipped to their destinations. Also, online shoppers have the freedom to shop at any time they want to. Overall, online shopping consumes little time compared to shopping in stores.

Freedom: The Convenience and Flexibility of Online Shopping

The other difference is the Freedom factor. A buyer requires freedom to purchase items when it is convenient for him or her. Online shopping enables buyers to make purchases at any time of the day or the night. This is because online shopping websites are not limited by time. for instance, a shopper who rarely has time to shop during the day due to a busy schedule can shop online and the items will be delivered at a place that is specified. The buyer would avoid the inconvenience of creating time in their busy schedules to go shopping which may last for hours. On the other hand, shopping in stores is quite restricted in terms of freedom. This is because in some places stores close during the night hence those who wish to shop have to do so during the night. For instance, a doctor who is busy all day tending to patients would have less freedom when it comes to shopping in stores. Therefore, online shopping is a better option compared to shopping in stores.

Cost: The Financial Advantages of Online Shopping over Shopping in Stores

Cost is also a major factor when it comes to shopping. Cost may involve the cost of storage, rental costs, ferrying costs, VAT, and many others. Online shopping involves very few of these costs. For instance, the items acquired through online shopping mostly do not include rental costs VAT. Only the cost of transportation is added; items obtained through shopping in stores also attract transportation cost in the overall price of the good. Shopping in stores, on the other hand, attracts very many costs including storage costs, VAT, cost of renting the retail store. Retail stores also have more salaried-employees than online stores hence the expenses are more which are included in the price of the item. Overall, it is better to shop online because the overall price of items is lower.

Conclusion

Evidently, time, freedom, and cost are all factors that distinguish online shopping from shopping in stores. Online shopping allows the customer more freedom, saves time for the customer, and involves fewer costs which translate to the price of the items. Advancement in technology has also played a huge part in making online shopping more popular. This topic is crucial to the society because it helps the consumers to gauge how they could get the maximum out of their time and financial resources. Overall, time, freedom, and costs are what make online shopping more popular than shopping in stores.

Works Cited

Schultz, Don E., and Martin P. Block. "US online shopping: Facts, fiction, hopes, and dreams." Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 23 (2015): 99-106.

Shop.co. "A Brief History of Online Shopping." Shop.co, 3 May 2017, www.shop.co/brief-history-online-shopping/.