Pros and cons of buying online in 2019
Pros of Buying Online The convenience of buying online The biggest Pros of online shopping in 2019 is that you can buy almost anything you could imagine without ever leaving your house. Online stores are open 24X7 and are accessible from any location with an Internet connection. Shoppers can shop in their pajamas and they can save on gas. Online shoppers don't have to deal with annoying crowds. Selecting Various Products at ease In general, online stores are able to carry more selection than traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Because online stores don’t need to attractively display their items on shelves, they can keep a larger amount of inventory on hand. They also might only have small amounts of each item, since they don’t need to display them, and can order more from their supplier as needed. Buying Refurbished Products products is one the great selection advantage with buying online in 2019. Vast Products Information Online shops tend to provide more information about items for sale than you would get in a physical store (unless you asked a sales associate, and that can be hit-or-miss). Product descriptions most often include a description from the manufacturer, another description from the vendor, specific technical and size details, reviews from professional magazines and journals, and reviews from people who have bought the product. Online bookstores often will have excerpts of the books (usually the first chapter) for you to read. Having all this information available when you are considering a purchase makes you a more informed consumer without having to perform extra research yourself. Really Low Price Because online stores don’t have to pay rent for a storefront in a nice part of town and tend to sell much larger quantities of goods, they can offer to sell products for a much lower price. Discounts online can be substantial up to 15-30 percent off the suggested retail price. There are even some sites that only sell clearance items! However, buying online does take away from local business, so that is a consideration to keep in mind. Buying through vouchers is also a great alternative rather buying online. Thegigclub is an upcoming e-commerce website where usage of vouchers is a great choice of purchasing
Cons of buying online 2019 Hands-On Quality Inspection Online shoppers do not have the ability to physically inspect or try on the items being considered for purchase. For example, clothes shopping can be very tricky online, since you can’t try on the clothes before you buy. There may also be small details that you decide you don’t like in a product that isn’t noticeable until you have it in your hand. Shipping Some major online retailers now offer free shipping for their products, but many require you to meet a minimum order cost to qualify or only offer this incentive at certain times of
Waiting Time Waiting for your item to arrive is another downside of buying online. One of the great pleasures of shopping at a store is the instant gratification—you see something you like, you pay for it, and then you get to take it home and use it right away! In the case of online shopping, you may have to wait days or even weeks for the item to arrive at your door. Especially if you are in a time crunch, then you may want to consider purchasing your item at a local retail shop. Privacy When you shop online, you waive certain privacy rights to the online retailer. Online stores can track your purchases over time to give you more suggestions of things you might like to buy, send you e-mails with sale information, and, occasionally, sell your contact information to other companies. These days, many brick-and-mortar stores do the same thing, tracking your information through your credit card (Target is a notable example). However, it is much trickier for traditional stores to do this, as you may sometimes pay in cash or refuse to provide your e-mail address at checkout. In contrast, by purchasing something in an online store, you sign away certain privacy rights—this is why it is always a good idea to read the Terms of Service. The bottom line Many businesses are selling through both online and bricks and mortar stores, meaning they are able to play a part in and benefit from both worlds. This is good for consumers as competition and pricing is a lot more transparent. Most consumers spend their money in both local outlets and online stores and that is the behavior that we encourage as it supports both communities. Obviously, there are always going to be some brands that you can’t buy locally or certain products or manufacturers that you prefer to buy from directly and that is fine. Ultimately, online shopping is having an impact on our local communities as, for example, book and CD stores close down - but many entrepreneurs created global businesses to meet the online demands. Every business can benefit from being online and every consumer benefits from the additional information available. However, there is still space (and demand) for retail – so in reality, there is a place for both forms of commerce. It certainly has been a wake-up call for the retail chains that once had the luxury of charging what they wanted. 
