Online or In-Store Shopping?

Do you prefer to shop online or in a physical store? It’s a question that comes up quite a bit these days with the ever growing popularity and convenience of online shopping. SwiftMoney has been interested in whether people are more in to “retail or e-tail” and it’s pretty interesting to look at the statistics.

I love looking at statistics like this and truth be told I thought that the percentage of people who prefer online shopping would be much higher! Honestly, I can shop anywhere (mostly) and have no problem with either. But, I have to say that these days I find myself doing a majority of my shopping online. There are a few reasons for this.

Shopping from the comfort of my own home is just so convenient. I can be in my pajamas and pick out new shoes without having to shower, get dressed, do my makeup, and drive to the store. It’s just so easy to shop online these days, especially when many times the selection online is so much bigger than what you can find in-store. I remember when I was really young, my parents would go to a store they really liked at the mall and if they didn’t have an item in stock or their size, there was a catalog (seriously) on a counter with a phone and you could place the order. People thought that was convenient. Well, online shopping is even more convenient!

In the SwiftMoney graphic above, it said that 67.9% of people like to see what they’re buying beforehand. I understand that and I won’t lie, there have been times where I’ve bought something online that wasn’t exactly how I had pictured it. But those instances are rare for me and like the other 65.6% of people I only online shop from brands and stores I know and trust. With that being said, since I mostly shop from stores I already know, when it comes to clothing I know what size I wear at each of the shops/brands and rarely have a case where something really doesn’t fit me. And if you need to make a return most orders provide a return label or if you feel like venturing to a physical store you can make returns there. There really is very little hassle involved!

Lastly, I find that I can spend less money when I shop online versus in the store. Don’t get me wrong, I do way too much online shopping for my own good, but when I do go to a physical store I tend to spend more than I would have if I had just bought online. How does this happen? Well, when I’m in the store I might walk around and as I come across something I like I grab it off the rack. Once I think I’m done I might put a few things back but I usually end up with a majority of what I had initially chosen. Of course, I look at the price tags but I’m not standing around doing mental math trying to figure out exactly how much this will all run me. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised at the register when I find out that some of my items were for a bigger sale price than marked, but this doesn’t happen often. More often than not, my total ends up being a lot more than I had estimated and I’m really not the kind of person to ask the salesperson to take items off.  However, when I shop online I can see my shopping cart and I can see if I’ve spent way more that I had wanted. I can delete items or I can favorite them to buy the next time around.

I feel like there’s much more control over my spending online. I guess you could say I could have more self-control when it comes to my shopping and avoid all this, but let’s be real – I’m not going to stop shopping anytime soon. Slow down in order to save for Christmas presents, sure – but stop, no. Which reminds me, the holidays are coming up! As much as I love seeing the malls in their festive beauty, they are just too crowded during the holidays. I will probably still go just to pick up a few things and take in the holiday cheer, but the majority of my shopping will be done online where I can avoid the long lines, crowds, packed parking lots, and probably score some better deals!

Which do you prefer?

*This post is a collaboration with SwiftMoney, but all opinions are my own.*