I have to admit that shopping is one of my favourite things to do and I think lots of my readers agree with that. It’s just so much fun to look through all the items they have in store and it’s even more fun to unpack everything when you get home and play around it with it or wear it for the very first time. When I was younger all of my shopping was done offline, in the real world. But the last couple of years that has changed quite a bit and now I’m shopping almost exclusively online. Recently I was thinking about this topic and I realised it might be a fun idea to do a post about the pro’s and cons of shopping online and offline. So, if you’re interested in finding out what my pro’s and cons are for shopping online and offline, make sure you continue reading!
Online shopping – Endless possibilities
Let’s start with my current favourite way to shop, online shopping. My first pro is the fact that you can do it from home, or even better, from your bed. You don’t have to go anywhere to do it so you can stay in your comfortable clothes, don’t have to travel to get there and if you have one of these days, you don’t even have to communicate with someone.
I also love that online you have all the choice in the world and you never can’t find anything. Online there are no restrictions. You don’t have to deal with the ‘we don’t have it in this store’ kind of thing. It’s always there. Okay if might be sold out, but the chances of the product being available in store compared to online are much smaller.
Another big reason why I love doing my shopping online is that you can use coupon codes. Because of coupon codes you can get things for so much less money than you would’ve paid for it if you had gone to a store. It makes such a difference. Of course there are coupon codes for in store, however, you don’t really get the time to look for them and most of the really good deals can only be found online. So well, I like to keep it online when it comes to that.
But that wasn’t it yet for the pro’s. I also love that online you get to look up reviews, swatches and tutorials of the products you might be wanting to buy. You can take the time to see what other people think of it, what it looks like on others and whether people consider a product worth buying or not. Of course you can’t try it on yourself, but I have to say that when it comes to makeup I hardly ever try anything on in store either.
Offline shopping – A fun afternoon spent
One of my big pro’s when it comes to getting your shopping done offline is that it always results in a fun afternoon with some of your friends or family members. When you do your shopping online you’re mostly on your own and doing nothing than being online, which is way less quality time with your friends and family. Of course it can be considered as quality time with yourself, but I love doing it with my mom and friends as well.
I also like, when it comes to clothes, that you can fit it before you buy it. Of course you can send things back when you order online, but that’s always such a hustle. If you’ve fitted it before you bought it, there is no need for this hustle at all. And I do appreciate that.
Another big pro is that you don’t have to wait until you get it. You don’t have any delivery times or costs, you just purchase it and have it right away. You could be wearing or using the item that afternoon. How cool is that?!
Online shopping – Everything that can go wrong
Even though I absolutely love online shopping, a lot can go wrong. For example, the purchased item can look completely different in real life and not in a good way. Of course you can get a refund, but it does make you feel a little disappointed and that ain’t a nice feeling in my book.
I also hate it when they accidentally send the wrong item and you have to wait even longer until you finally get the right item, or get your money back. And that brings me to another thing. How annoying is it that you sometimes have to pay quite a large fee to return an item. Seriously, sometimes the fee to return it is even higher than the cost of the item. That does really suck.
Looking at the environment, I do think online shopping is less environment friendly. I mean it does take a truck, a lot of plastic and whatnot to get the product to your door. If you’d just go out and buy it, that wouldn’t be necessary.
Offline shopping – You can never find what you’re looking for
A big downside to shopping offline is that, when you find that one piece you’re head over heals with, it’s never in your size or the only one that’s still hanging there is damaged. That’s such a big bummer and it almost always results in me buying a piece of clothing in a way too big size or a damaged piece. And that is literally the dumbest thing you can possibly do. I know.
I also don’t like it when it’s very busy at the mall/city where you’re shopping. You have to wait a million hours in line just to fit it and then you have to wait a million more hours to pay for it. While online you never have to wait. No one is going to make you wait in line, you can get it when you want. And that brings me to the fact that online stores never close, offline stores do. Of course that’s very reasonable, people have to sleep to and have a life, but well, I do think it’s a bit of a con when it comes to shopping.
Overall I do think that shopping is fun whether you do it offline or online. Both have their pro’s and cons and of course you can just do it both whenever you please. Anyway, that will be it for today’s post. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and be sure to let me know what way of shopping you prefer!
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