Top 8 Reasons Why People Prefer to Shop Online
80% of the American population shops online. Does this number surprise you?
It shouldn’t. While shopping at a traditional store has some benefits, shopping online is so much more convenient for many types of purchases. If you don’t have to waste time getting up, driving to the store, and digging through items, why would you?
We’re here to talk about some of the top reasons that online shopping trends are showing that more and more people are shopping on the web. Read on to learn more.
1. Convenience
One of the top reasons that anyone prefers to shop online rather than out in the “real world” is convenience. We’ve all grown so accustomed to things being convenient, and shopping is no exception.
“Real” shopping, while fun, is inconvenient at the end of the day. While it can be an entertaining social activity, it’s not the most efficient method of trying to purchase a new item.
You must get up, get dressed, get in your car, and drive to where you think your item may be. If it’s out of stock, you must drive somewhere else. You may not be able to find what you’re looking for at all.
You’re wasting gas and time that you could be using on anything else.
When you with an ecommerce store, you get to skip all those steps. You can find what you’re looking for in moments, pay for it, and have it sent your way without ever having to leave your home.
You can do it from work, from the gym, or from anywhere else you have internet access.
2. Discounts
Do you remember the days of waiting for sales and then rushing to the mall to get a good deal?
There’s something fun about finding a surprise deal when you’re shopping in a physical store, but when you’re waiting for a specific product, waiting around can be tedious. You don’t want to wait for the next big holiday weekend to save a few dollars.
Customers shop online with ecommerce stores partially because they know that there’s a not-insignificant chance that they’ll get a better deal. Even if there’s no obvious decrease in price, they can often find coupons or discount codes.
3. No Required Awkward Interactions
Humans are social creatures, but that doesn’t mean that they always want to interact. It’s not always ideal to enter a store, wade through salespeople at kiosks, swerve away from sample counter workers, and then end up in a long line for some overburdened cashier.
Socializing takes up a lot of mental energy. If someone is tired after work, feeling down, sick, or otherwise not interested in socializing, this may deter them from shopping at all.
Customers only interact with customer service helpers if they choose to do so when they shop at an online ecommerce store.
4. Privacy
There are some items that people may feel self-conscious about when they’re shopping. Those can include intimate items, hygiene items, medications, and more.
When they’re shopping in public, it’s difficult to hide their purchases. Even if they’re using a self-checkout stand, someone can see them picking up their items and scanning them.
If they can’t find something, they must ask a worker for help. That adds even more stress for the customer.
When someone shops online with an ecommerce store, no one knows what they’re buying. They can get it delivered right to their door in subtle packaging so no one is any the wiser. This is a huge benefit.
5. Easy Refund and Replacement Methods
When you try to return something to a brick-and-mortar store, you run the chance of not being able to do so. Return policies aren’t always clearly laid out (instead, often just available in fine print on receipts) and you may have to return to the physical location if a return or replacement is even possible.
Ecommerce stores don’t necessarily work this way. When they shop online, the return policies are available to customers always. Customers often have to view the return or replacement policy before even committing to the sale.
If a customer does have to return or replace something, they can mail it. This is far easier than driving back to the store. They pay online and thus get their money back online.
6. Variety
If a customer lives in a major city, variety is a non-issue. After all, they have access to an almost endless number of stores and objects (unless they’re looking for something truly niche, but more on that later).
Most people, however, don’t have this experience. They live in a small town, a small city, or a mid-sized city. Or they live in a major city but don’t want to go to every store just to do a single day’s shopping.
The internet gives them access to more than in-store shopping ever can. They have access to food, medication, clothing, toys, decor, and so much more. They can even compare different producers of each item so they can get the one that’s right for them.
7. Unusual or Uncommon Items
Sometimes looking for niche objects while in-store shopping feels like a fun treasure hunt. Other times, it’s frustrating. Maybe you’re looking for a rare gift for a friend, or something from a distant memory that you can no longer find in conventional stores. Perhaps it’s something from a different country that you can’t find in local stores at all.
Online, this isn’t a problem. The internet is global. If the item is somewhere, you can get it online with ecommerce (even if you may have to jump through some hoops to do so).
8. Product Information
When you shop online, you have clear access to all available information about that product. You can learn the dimensions, ingredients, where it was made, its brand, and more.
While shopping in-store, you must look up that information on your own, and it may be difficult to find. Shopping online with ecommerce stores gives you a clearer view of what you’re buying even when you can’t see it in person.
Online Shopping Trends: They Keep Trending Up
Online shopping trends make the facts obvious. More and more people are choosing to shop online, and for good reason! Shopping online is easy, convenient, private, and often more affordable.
What’s not to love?
At Gateway Payments, we have resources for owners of e-commerce and traditional businesses alike. We can make payments a breeze. Contact us to learn more about our services today.
