Top Reasons Why Online Shopping is Better than Offline Shopping

With the increase in internet users, online shopping is booming in India and it is expected to grow at a really fast pace in future also. According to a report from economic times, the number of consumers who purchase online is likely to cross more than 100 million in 2017. On the other hand, Mumbai and Bangalore are the major cities to show the highest preference for online shopping in 2016. Just because of the expansion, most of the retailers nowadays are trying to sell their products online either by developing their own website or by registering themselves as a seller on well-known e-commerce portals. In the recent years, e-commerce has exploded and it is not really hard to understand the benefits of online shopping also. Let us analyze some of the favourite reasons why online shopping is better than offline:-

1. No need to carry shopping bags

Going out on shopping and roaming around with heavy bags is a thing of past. Staggering home with multiple shopping bags having different items is a pain. Instead, people can now have a bag free shop just by a click of a few buttons and all they have to do is sit tight and wait for the delivery. Online stores are now delivering anything and everything from a needle to furniture that too without additional cost. Hence online shopping is really convenient for consumers.

2. Time Saving Process

It is of the most important reason behind the expansion of e-commerce market since online shopping can help people to save their precious time. Consumers don’t really need to run from one store to another in order to purchase what they want. You can simply log onto the website of a retail store or any leading e-commerce website having multiple retailers by using your computer or even mobile. With just a few taps on the screen, the shopping list will be on the doorstep.

3. Products are cheaper online

As compared to physical stores, products available online are generally cheaper. Online stores generally purchase products directly from vendors cutting wholesaler and retailer margins in between hence a chance of getting products at cheaper price. Online portals also provide facilities to avail coupons to save some more money. These portals also provide a wide range of flash sale and festival sales. It is hard to find deals like these offline.

4. No Transport Expenses

Most of the time a consumer has to drive at least a few miles to reach the market and complete the shopping list which incurs some transportation cost also. Since consumers can simply order from their home and doorstep delivery is there, therefore an opportunity to avoid transport expenditure is there.

5. Easy Return Policies

Refunds are really hassling free. Sometimes the product looks different online than they are in reality. In that case, if a consumer is not satisfied with the quality of the product they can easily ask for a return. Most of the e-commerce website provides “No Question Asked” returns where a company representative picks up the product from doorstep same as it was delivered.

6. Easily send gifts to relatives

Whether it’s the birthday of a relative or marriage anniversary simply have a look online and choose the gifts, make a purchase and get them delivered to your relatives. Some websites are now providing scheduled delivery also. All you need to do is to schedule a delivery and wait for the Thank You call. Include a little notecard with wishes and you will be considered as the most organized relative of the planet.

7. Shop anything with no one knowing

Most of us have neighbours who are interested more in our life than theirs. Hence sometimes a person just wants to maintain the privacy while shopping and don’t want others to know about their shopping habits. In that case just order the stuff online and your products will be delivered in a common packaging and neighbours will definitely stay disappointed.

8. Comparison of the products is easy

Sometimes it is extremely complicated to compare products in terms of features as well as price in the physical market. Online shopping gives you the liberty to compare the products on different websites and freedom to buy the products at the most affordable prices that you are willing to buy. A person can also check reviews of the product given by other people before purchase and get to know about the quality from their experience.

9. 24/7 Shopping

The online shopping stores are open throughout 24 hours of the day and 7 days of the week. Whereas, most of the retail stores are open only during the daytime. However, a person does not have enough time during the day to go out shopping because of other responsibilities and most importantly work. In such a situation, online shopping would come to your rescue.

10. No Crowd

Some people don’t like the crowd and sometimes crowded places make the shopping experience unpleasant. To avoid the frustration one can always go online and shop while enjoying the comfort of own home and having a cup of coffee. Hence, e-commerce websites can make the shopping experience smooth and easy.

Submitted by- Abhishek Tyagi | Madhurjaya Bora | Krishna Gopal Aggarwal