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Despite the fact that ecommerce is growing quite fast, some people are still on the fence about shopping online.
Sure, there are certain risks involved, but so long as you stick to safe and approved online stores, there should be no reason to be against the option.
In case you or someone you know is not ready to start shopping online, changing stances should not be a problem after realizing how many advantages online stores have over physical stores.
9 Reasons Why Ecommerce Is Overtaking Physical Stores
1. Product Variety
Let’s start with product variety. It is likely that even the biggest shopping malls do not have all the stuff you want.
With online shopping, however, you can find virtually anything you want. You only need to do some searching. Instead of walking around and wasting energy, find what you are looking for on a computer or a mobile phone.
One other thing to note is that it is easy to order custom goods via online shops. If you want cozy pajamas to sleep in, wacky t-shirts or hoodies, personalized mugs, or other similar goods, it will not take too long before you can get them ordered on the internet.
2. International Shipping
Continuing with the point of product variety, it is possible to order goods that are not available in your area or even your country.
International shipping can be expensive, but if you really want something from overseas, you can usually get it so long as there are no restrictions.
Take merchandise, for instance. Be it sports clubs or various artists; if you want to support them, the odds are that you will need to shop in the official store that ships overseas.
3. Delivery Location
Those who live in remote locations should be more than happy with the existence of online shopping and local deliveries.
Instead of having to make a long journey to the nearest city that has certain stores, you can order the goods online and go on with your day.
Another benefit of delivery locations is the fact that you can still collect your order even if you cannot take it directly from the delivery company. Most delivery service offer drops at dedicated parcel boxes that can only be accessed by the owners of the goods. You can go to the delivery location when you can and collect the goods using a PIN code or another type of password.
4. Anonymity
Online shopping also lets you stay anonymous. Imagine trying to purchase a gift for someone but being afraid of getting spotted at a physical store. Well, there is no need to worry about that when you can quickly open an internet web browser and do your shopping online.
And note that in case you worry about someone checking the computer or a mobile device you did your shopping on, you can delete the browsing history.
5. 24/7 Availability
24/7 availability is a thing with physical stores, but it is too rare to be considered a standard. Not to mention that 24/7 stores usually sell something specific.
If you shop on the internet, you can complete transactions regardless of the time of day. Online stores do not need employees to operate. So long as the website is up and running, you should be able to do your shopping on it.
6. No Pushy Staff
Pushy staff is not as common these days when shopping in a physical store, but you might still encounter employees trying to trick or force you into buying certain goods.
Sometimes, you simply want to browse and not spend any money, right? Certain people treat the activity as a form of relaxation, but the whole experience gets ruined by annoying store staff.
You will not have this issue in an online store. You can browse as much as you want even if you have no plans to actually spend money from your bank account.
One could argue that push-up notifications and ads are similar to pushy staff. Sure, when we look at it from a business point of view, there is a desire to increase profits, and recommendations and other methods of FOMO push shoppers to spend money, but one can ignore that.
7. No Queues
Waiting in a queue is one of the most annoying things about going to a physical store. Thankfully, you do not have to waste your time shopping online. Simple checkout processes make the transaction seem almost instant.
8. Easy Price Comparisons
If you are uncertain whether the price for a product is good value, you can check other sites and compare prices.
It becomes easier to save money when you can find the best deal. Some internet browsers even have dedicated price comparison tables that let shoppers find the lowest price.
9. Reviews From Prior Customers
The last advantage of shopping online is the fact that you can check prior customer feedback. Most online stores have a review section that lets shoppers leave feedback on the product page.
You can read the testimonials or even watch video reviews, which is great if you are uncertain about whether it is a good idea to buy something.