online vs traditional shopping essay

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Compare and Contrast Shopping Online with Traditional Shopping

Technological innovation has improved the way many firms market their items as well as how consumers access these goods. Although equipment helps companies improve productivity to satisfy high demand, the internet enables consumers to easily view goods on the market. This famous movement is known as online shopping. Traditional shopping, on the other hand, refers to physically entering a shopping center or a supermarket to purchase products. Owing to the vast number of people who choose online shopping, it is now becoming an obsolete way of buying. The essay compares and contrasts online and traditional shopping. Both online and traditional shopping offers products and comparatively convenient services to the customer. They equally provide an extensive selection of goods and services needed by customers to meet their daily wants and needs. For instance, when a client goes to a shopping mall or a clothes store to purchase a dress, they can find a variety of colors, shapes, styles and sizes (Kacen, et al., 2013). Similarly, online shopping exposes the customers to many items to buy with different costs and styles. However, the preference of the buyer determines which method of shopping they are going to choose.

The other similarity is that both of these shopping methods allow the consumer to return an item has expired, small size or other problems. The conditions of retailer’s policy determine whether replacing the item or refunding a customer is possible (Kacen, et al., 2013). However, traditional and online stores allow clients to return some goods for refund and others for exchanges. For instance, exchanges and returns of personal commodities such as toiletries and undergarments are unaccepted in both online and mall stores.

On the differences, online shopping is convenient and saves time, especially for people with busy schedules. When shopping online, one takes about 10 minutes to log into the website and purchase the selected items, which are then delivered at home (Kacen, et al., 2013). One can also shop wherever they are as long as they have internet enabled devices such as smartphones that can allow one to access the website selling goods. On the other hand, traditional shopping takes a lot of time to visit the shopping center and selected items, which are usually not located in the same area (Kacen, et al., 2013). Also, when one visits a center that is very far from home, they incur transportation cost or even fuel cost if they are driving themselves.

Nevertheless, traditional shopping allows the buyer to see the actual products before buying them. Thus, they have the choice to select the best item and even fit products such as clothes before paying for them (Kacen, et al., 2013). The customer can also bargain with the seller and buy at a lower price than that of the online products. Also, the buyers get the goods once they have paid for them, allowing them to get a safe deal. Online shopping, on the other hand, cannot fit items such as clothes before they buy them and are likely to get a smaller or bigger size, which is not guaranteed they can return them (Kacen, et al., 2013). Online shoppers cannot bargain for products; thus have to buy for the listed price even when it is cheaper on other stores in the market. Also, the buyer does not get the items immediately after paying them and can be inconveniencing if they are needed urgently such as tissues and shampoos.

Online shopping and traditional shopping are two important methods of purchasing products and services that have both advantages and disadvantages. They both offer new and existing goods and services available in the market. However, online shopping allows buyers to purchase good from their comfort of their home; thus saves time, money and energy. In traditional shopping, the buyer has to go to the store to access goods; thus, are likely to buy products that are in good conditions at the lowest price. The two methods have their good and bad sides; thus, one’s choice depends on their preference.

Kacen, J. J., Hess, J. D., & Chiang, W. Y. K. (2013). Bricks or clicks? Consumer attitudes toward traditional stores and online stores. Global Economics and Management Review, 18(1), 12-21.

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Home » General » What is the Difference Between Online Shopping and Traditional Shopping

What is the Difference Between Online Shopping and Traditional Shopping

The main difference between online shopping and traditional shopping is that online shopping is very convenient as you can shop anytime, anywhere while traditional shopping can be time-consuming , but allows you to actually see and touch the products you are buying.

Although we usually associate shopping with going to a shop and making a purchase (we call this traditional shopping), online shopping is rapidly becoming popular all over the world. However, each has its own pros and cons.

Key Areas Covered

1.  What is Online Shopping       – Definition, Features, Pros and Cons 2.  What is Traditional Shopping      – Definition, Features, Pros and Cons 3.  What is the Difference Between Online Shopping and Traditional Shopping      – Comparison of Key Differences

What is Online Shopping

Online shopping is the activity of purchasing products and services over the internet . This is a very convenient way of shopping since you can use it to buy things from anywhere at any time. All you have to do is visit a specific website or an online retailer like Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress and search for the product and order it using your credit or debit card. In addition, there are also other payment methods like PayPal, American Express, Apple Pay, etc. Some retailers also offer the cash-on-delivery option.

Online shopping is rapidly becoming a very popular method of shopping. However, it has both advantages and disadvantages. 

Pros of Online Shopping

• Customers can shop anywhere, anytime as there are no geographical boundaries.
• There are a wide variety of items available for purchase
• Customers have the ability to compare prices and find the items that fit their budget
• It is also possible to buy second-hand items at a lower price
• Customers can easily send gifts to others via online shopping

Cons of Online Shopping

• Customers don’t have the chance to physically see or touch the items they order; sometimes, what they see in product advertisement may be completely different from the product that is delivered to them.
• Customers have to wait for the items they ordered to arrive
• There are delivery charges and chances of mishandling during delivery
• There is a risk of online fraud
• Online transactions may be subject to tax
• Some websites and sellers may pause a threat to online security
• Overall, online shopping may be a dull experience

What is Traditional Shopping

Like online shopping, traditional shopping also has its own pros and cons.

Pros of Traditional Shopping

• Customers can actually touch and see the products they are buying.
• Traditional shopping allows customers face-to-face communication with other customers as well as shop personnel.
• It’s easy to return the product.
• Products like garments and shoes can be tried on before purchase.

Cons of Traditional Shopping

• Traditional shopping may not offer a vast range of products, like online shopping.
• Shops are not open on certain hours and certain days, so there’s a restrain on time.
• There is no opportunity to compare prices and products.
• Customers may lose money and time to travel to the shop.

Difference Between Online Shopping and Traditional Shopping

Online shopping is the activity of purchasing goods and services over the internet while traditional shopping is the activity of visiting a shop and making purchases.

Convenience

Often, online shopping tends to be more convenient than traditional shopping. This is because customers can shop anywhere, anytime as there are no geographical boundaries.

Ability to See and Touch Products

In traditional shopping, customers are actually able to see what they are buying before they make the payment; however, in online shopping, customers don’t have the chance to physically see or touch the items they order; sometimes, what they see in product advertisement may be completely different from the product that is delivered to them.

Traditional shopping is safer than since there is a risk of online fraud and security issues like hacking in online shopping.

Online shopping allows customers to compare prices and find the cheapest products, but traditional shopping doesn’t allow customers this chance to compare prices easily.

Returning Products

There may be some complications in returning the products in online shopping, but it’s relatively easy to return products in traditional shopping. 

Communication

There is no face-to-face communication in online shopping, but traditional shopping allows customers face-to-face communication with other customers as well as shop personnel.

The main difference between online shopping and traditional shopping is that online shopping is very convenient as you can shop anytime, anywhere while traditional shopping can be time-consuming, but allows you to actually see and touch the products you are buying.

Image Courtesy:

1. “2900303” (CC0) via Pixabay 2. “Free photo of Woman Shopping” (CC0) via Stocksnap

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A Comparison and Contrast Between Shopping Online and Traditional Shopping

Since time immemorial, shopping has been an integral part of human life. Over time, technological advancements have brought changes in the way people do their shopping. Notably, the advent of online shopping has paved way for an alternative mode of shopping from the traditional shopping and has been embraced globally. This paper compares and contrasts shopping online with traditional shopping.

Traditional shopping refers to the activity in which consumers purchase goods and services by physically visiting a given seller or store. When it comes to purchasing daily necessities like groceries, traditional shopping is considered an essential (Aryani et al., 2021). On the other hand, online shopping is the process of purchasing goods over the internet with the use of internet-enabled devices such as phones and computers. Traditional shopping methods have been in use for ages. It is the most common practice that people use to purchase products. Online shopping is, on the other hand, more recent practice of shopping. It is, however, considered by many, especially those in urban set-ups as the most convenient way of shopping (Aryani et al., 2021).

Both traditional and online shopping methods offer a variety of stores to choose from. Most, if not all, physical stores available, have corresponding online stores that offer the same products. Like traditional stores, online stores offer a variety of items to pick from. Specialty stores, retailers and whole sellers can be found online. Both shopping methods give similar deals and offers in their stores to their customers. They both offer seasonal sales, end of season sales, and stock clearance sales. The promotions from both traditional and online stores are usually offered at similar times of the month. Most traditional and online stores also offer return policies to their customers. Refund or exchange of a product is typically allowed upon customers request for defective or undesired items.

In spite of the similarities between online and traditional shopping, the differences are plenty. When making an online purchase, a customer is unable to touch, feel, smell or even try out a product they are purchasing. A customer is therefore unable to effectively asses and determine the quality of a product. This may affect a customer’s decision to purchase an item, especially for those items that may require one to try them out like shoes and clothes. This is, however, not the case with traditional shopping where one gets to see, examine, feel, touch, smell and even try out a product then make payment upon satisfaction (Daroch et al., 2021).

Online shopping is handier, time-saving, and more convenient as compared to traditional shopping. One is able to go through thousands of items and do comparisons, check for offers and ultimately make a purchase within minutes at the comfort of their seat at any time. This, however, is not possible in traditional stores since one has to physically visit the store to make a purchase. Some traditional stores also have operational hours which, with increasingly busy lifestyles, may turn out to be inconveniencing to some customers.

Online shopping may require one to give out their details for delivery as well as payment methods and contact details which may pose security threats. This is not the case with traditional shopping where one walks in and walks out with their purchased item without giving out any of their details. Moreover, when doing online shopping, one needs to factor in the time taken to deliver the item, which may at times take longer than desired, unlike in traditional stores where one walks out with the item upon payment.

Overall, both online and traditional shopping have similarities and differences as well as advantages and disadvantages. This largely influences the customer’s decision on which method to use in doing their shopping. Some aspects of both methods of shopping may be a disadvantage to some people, while being beneficial to others, as in the case of knowledge of computers for older generations. The preference and benefits are, thus, more personal than communal.

Aryani, D. N., Nair, R. K., Hoo, D. X. Y., Hung, D. K. M., Lim, D. H. R., Chandran, D. A. R., Chew, W. P., & Desai, A. (2021). A Study on Consumer Behaviour: Transition from Traditional Shopping to Online Shopping During the COVID-19 Pandemic.  International Journal of Applied Business and International Management ,  6 (2), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.32535/ijabim.v6i2.1170

Daroch, B., Nagrath, G., & Gupta, A. (2021). A study on factors limiting online shopping behaviour of consumers.  Rajagiri Management Journal ,  15 (1), 39–52. https://doi.org/10.1108/ramj-07-2020-0038

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Online Shopping Essay

500+ words online shopping essay.

The trend of online shopping has increased in recent times with the increase of e-commerce and digital technology. With just a single click, you can shop for everything by sitting at your home as per your choice, convenience and budget. This essay on online shopping will help students learn about the pros and cons of online shopping. We have also compiled a list of CBSE Essays on different topics to help them improve their essay-writing skills. These essays will also help them improve their scores on the English exam.

What Does Online Shopping Mean?

Online shopping is the activity of buying products and services over the internet using a web browser or mobile app. It means buyers have to go online to reach a seller’s website and then select the product they want to purchase. The buyer can pay for the goods and services either online with a credit or debit card or upon delivery. Online shopping sites are also known by many other names such as e-shop, e-web-store, e-store, internet shop, web-store, web-shop, virtual store and online store. An online shop creates a physical analogy for buying products or services. Some of the famous online retailing corporations which facilitate the experience of online shopping are Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, Myntra, etc.

Online shopping is a growing area of the digital world and technology. Establishing a store on the Internet gives various options to consumers. With the growth of online shopping, most businesses have started selling their products online. Now, just having physical stores is not enough in this fast-paced world. Having online store interfaces for consumers has also become essential for running a business in the current scenario.

Benefits of Online Shopping

There are numerous advantages of online shopping. People feel more convenient while shopping online. They can shop from anywhere at their own convenient time through easy and safe payment methods. Online shopping has empowered consumers with various advantages such as convenience and time-saving, lower search costs, better product selection, lower prices, etc. One of the biggest benefits of online shopping is that you can buy the items you want with just a single click. Online stores are open 24 hours a day and are accessible from any location with an internet connection.

Online stores carry more variations and provide more varieties of a product as compared to traditional stores. This is because online stores don’t need to attractively display their items on shelves, and they can keep a larger amount of inventory on hand. They might also have small amounts of each item since they don’t need to display them and can order more from their supplier as needed.

Online shops tend to provide more information about items for sale than you would get in a physical store. Product descriptions most often include a description from the manufacturer, another description from the vendor, specific technical and size details, reviews from professional magazines and journals, and reviews from people who have bought the product. Having all this information available when you are considering a purchase makes you a more informed consumer without having to perform extra research by yourself.

Online stores are not burdened by the costs of running a physical store, such as the rent of the physical premises and wages of sales staff. The cost savings by online stores lead to lower pricing on the internet, passing on cost savings to shoppers. The internet encourages online vendors to compete with one another by lowering prices.

Disadvantages of Online Shopping

The benefits of shopping online also come with potential risks and dangers. When you shop online, you can’t touch or try out the product. You have to depend upon product pictures only. You can’t buy the product instantly. If you don’t get the product in hand immediately after payment, you have to wait for delivery, which can take days to weeks. There is no guarantee that you will get the product in its original shape; it might get damaged on the way. Sometimes, the product is very different from the pictures and description due to various reasons and also has poor quality. If, after receiving the package, expectations weren’t met, you need to go through a returns process which can be time-consuming. Apart from these, there is also a chance of security threats from online shopping. If the site is not secured, you have a risk of losing your card information.

Online shopping is one of the convenient ways of purchasing different products. However, there are some products which are better if they are purchased from physical stores. So, in the future, we can expect online stores to improve their technology, making way for a much easier and faster shopping experience.

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