Online Versus Traditional Shopping

Online Versus Traditional Shopping
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Online Versus Traditional Shopping
Online shopping refers to the activity of buying items online. It is a very convenient way of shopping as it allows customers to purchase anything anywhere at any time. Traditional shopping is the act of buying goods from a brick-and-mortar store. Customers have to visit the physical location of the stores to access the item. Both methods are effective ways of shopping. They have similarities and differences.
The main difference between online shopping and traditional shopping is convenience. Online shopping is more convenient and saves time because one can shop anywhere, anytime. It does not require a consumer to visit the stores. It only requires an internet-enabled device to access the online shops and order the item, which is then delivered to the doorstep. The time spent waiting for the delivery can be used to do other activities (Reddy & Jayalaxmi, 2014). In contrast, traditional shopping is time-consuming. One has to visit the shops to purchase a specific item. Visiting a shopping center may incur extra costs, such as transportation costs, especially if the store is distant. This is unlike online shopping, where consumers order goods from the comfort of their homes.
Another difference is tangibility. Traditional shopping allows the buyer to see and feel the product before purchasing it. Thus, customers have a choice to select the best item. In the case of clothes, the buyer can try to fit them to be sure of the measurements. Besides, traditional shopping allows the customer to bargain with the seller and buy at a discount. Such benefits are absent in online marketing, where the client relies on displayed products (Sarkar & Das, 2017). Sometimes, the customer may fail to get what they order. In most cases, products posted on the company’s website may differ from the actual product. Online sellers tend to post quality images as a marketing strategy to attract customers. The adv...