Remember when we were kids, and our parents would take us into town to the shops? We’d spend hours and hours trapesing through clothing shop after clothing shop, department store after department store, just for the possibility that mum, or dad might let us have a five minute browse in the toy section at Woolworths?
Now as adults, our shopping habits are a little different. Not only are shops like Woolworths and Tammy Girl a distant Saturday afternoon memory but as the years have passed, shopping is a completely different consumer experience, with the majority of it spent staring at a screen. But is it for better? Or worse?
The review is King
In the “olden days” we found out about a good shop or a place to avoid by word of mouth. The lady behind the till in Safeway would happily tell your mum about a lovely new shoe shop that’s opened around the corner, or the girl in Maths who has a gorgeous new pencil case would begrudgingly tell everyone where she got it from if she was pestered enough. Today, with review options in abundance – click here for some examples – you can tell whether or not a shop is worth clicking into just by seeing how many positive (or negative) reviews it has.
Thanks to modern day technology and our desire to share our lives and experiences online (good or bad) we don’t have to run the risk of a bad shopping experience, we can simply check social media, view reviews on the website itself, or simply search online for honest and sometimes brutal honesty. Let’s face it, the negative ones always make good reading!
The selection – I just want a nice top!
You know what it’s like when you’re searching for a nice top and it comes up with over 2000 results; when we shop online we get to browse to our hearts content and we can look through expansive collections in a shorter space of time (in theory).
But how much is too much? It’s true that shifting through over 2000 tops in a department store would take up too much of your time and condensing these onto a webpage might make it easier to digest. But does shopping online really make it easier? Head to a department store and you might find the top of your dreams a little quicker if you have over 2000 to physically look through. You can also feel the quality of the item, as well as ensuring it’s the right size. Because there’s nothing more disheartening then waiting in all day for a parcel and it being two sizes too small – we’ve all been there.
No limits
If you wanted a tailor-made harness and lead for your hamster, chances are you can find it online. Shopping online takes us past our high street and into a whole world of spending possibilities. You might be in your PJ’s but that doesn’t bar you from that high-end milliner’s store.
But will online shopping finally kill off the high street?
What do you think?
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