According to a study conducted by PWC, around 72% of respondents surveyed considered themselves either experts or confident when it came to researching different products and shopping online. According to statistics from Forrester Research Inc, about 70% of the growth in terms of online sales in 2010 could be attributed to existing clients switching to online shopping as opposed to utilizing retail outlets.
What becomes clear from these studies is that online shopping is becoming a more popular option. PWC theorize that this is due to advances in technology – the increased uptake of smart phones and tablets makes online shopping much more convenient.
Can a case be made for shopping exclusively online then? It would seem so. Here are the top three reasons why people prefer shopping online and why it could pay you to shop exclusively online.
Being Able to Shop at Any Time
Punters often cite cost savings as the primary reason for people to choose shopping online. According to the PWC study though, the top reason respondents chose for choosing online shopping was actually the convenience of being able to shop whenever they wanted to.
This makes sense – as a society, we are busier than we have ever been before and time is more precious than ever. It is no longer unusual to put in long days at the office or to work odd hours. Online shopping allows us to shop at any time of the day or night. There is no longer any need to rush out during your lunch break or rush to get to the store before it closes. You can relax a bit, take some time to research your options and shop whenever you are ready to.
Better Prices
Coming in a close second to convenience, better prices also prompted respondents to choose to shop online. There are several ways to save when shopping online – you can research different deals with a few clicks of the mouse and find the most up to date special offers and the most competitive pricing.
Deal-of-the-day websites such as Groupon allow shoppers to make significant savings when purchasing goods or services. It is not uncommon to save more than 50% with Groupon offers. For example, there are 40 Groupons available for Home Depot, which can mean big savings for you.
Then, of course, there are very real savings in terms of cutting back on impulse purchases – it’s simple, retail outlets go to a lot of time and effort to encourage impulse buying. Online shopping is more like a surgical strike – you search for exactly what you want and get to avoid having being tempted by great displays.
Quicker and Easier Than Visiting Stores
Another reason that respondents cited for choosing to shop online was that it was quicker and easier than visiting a retail outlet. When shopping online, you can avoid fighting your way through heavy traffic, battling to find parking and having to wait in long queues.
You can shop from the comfort of your couch instead of having to face the hordes at the mall. You can get what you want in a matter of minutes, rather than having to embark on a shopping expedition.
Add in that you are likely to be able to access a better range of products, home delivery and the fact that it is so much easier to compare deals and it soon becomes obvious that shopping online can save you a lot in terms of time and money. It definitely pays to shop online.
