Smart & Connected Life > Working From Home 329 329 people found this article helpful 17 Pros and Cons of Shopping Online Find great deals online, but be safe about it By Stacy Fisher Stacy Fisher Technology Educator Emporia State University Stacy is a professional technology educator with over 25 years' experience. She has published hundreds of articles, co-authored a book, and has appeared on national and local TV. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 3, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Working From Home The Ultimate Guide to Shopping Online The Ultimate Guide to Online Learning at Home The Ultimate Guide to Skype There are tons of online shopping sites where you can buy everything from plane tickets and flat-screen TVs to food, clothes, furniture, office supplies, movies, and lots more. While shopping online is convenient and fun, there are some disadvantages. Know the cons to realize the benefits of shopping at a traditional store. 10 of the Top Current Trends on the Internet MOAimage/Moment/Getty Images The Pros of Shopping Online There are, of course, distinct advantages of online shopping: Time Convenience In comparison to a brick-and-mortar store with fixed hours, online shopping venues are available any time, day or night. This is especially useful for parents with small children, anyone who works throughout the day, and during times of inclement weather. Shopping Apps Shopping from an app is a convenient luxury. Whether you're homebound or able to visit a store, shopping from your phone is a uniquely awesome experience. Price Comparisons When you visit a store, you most likely settle for whatever price the vendor has placed on a particular item. With online shopping, you can compare prices from hundreds of different vendors. Grocery store price comparison apps are one example. Discounts and Notifications Online stores want to keep you as a customer, so they may offer deep discounts, rewards, and cash back if you sign up for their newsletters. This can keep you updated on all the best upcoming sales. Coupon codes—like the ones you can get from coupon code sites—are also extremely popular when shopping online. Infinite Choice Shelf space in a physical store is limited, which means the variety of goods is limited. This isn't true with online stores, where choices are abundant. If you don't see what you want at one store online, move on to the next one. As the consumer, you have the power to do that. No Size Limitation Another benefit is when the product you want to buy is too big to haul in your vehicle. Buying a boat from an auction site or ordering a tiny home online are just two examples of situations where your car just won't do the job. Zero Parking Struggles Finding a parking spot can be a big reason you don't stop at a store. Especially around the holidays, there's a major benefit of no congestion when shopping online. When it's really busy, you might not even remember where you parked your car! Home Delivery for the Disabled Buying oversized items and not having to worry about parking are benefits everyone can take advantage of, but if you're physically disabled to the point that you can't drive or walk through a store, online shopping might be your only solution to ordering food, essential items, and other goods. Easy Access to Consumer Reviews It's easy to access consumer reviews for pretty much any product you can think of online, which makes for informed purchases. If you're not sure if you're up to buying something, conduct a little research by checking out customer reviews. No Pressure Sales If you don't want to experience awkward approaches by eager salespeople, you don't have to put up with that online. While you could consider pop-up ads a similar experience, they're a bit easier to suppress. Car auction websites are a great example of this. Fewer Impulse Buys This one depends on your shopping habits. If you find it easier to buy things you see in passing as you walk through a store's aisles, online shopping could save you money and even help you make healthier choices. More Payment Methods Another benefit of online shopping is that you can pay for things differently than you can at a physical store. Some retailers support PayPal or Bitcoin, for example. The Cons of Shopping Online Here are a few disadvantages of internet shopping that might deter you from making your next purchase online: You Can't Try Things On When you buy clothes online, you can't feel the material, see how it fits around your waist, or notice how it's made. Unless you know your measurements and are familiar with the brand of clothing offered, this could be a bad experience. Most online stores make it easy to return items for this reason. Clothing websites usually post detailed measurement and fabric information to minimize returns. You Can't Always Talk to Someone Immediately If you have a question about what you're about to order, or what you just ordered but want to return, you may have to wait a full day or longer to get your question answered. This situation is improving, however, as many sites have added an instant chat service or automated bot-answering screen to address concerns and answer questions on the spot. Must Wait for Delivery Need something no later than this afternoon? Not many online shopping sites have same-day delivery, and none of them offer the on-the-spot, take-home advantage that a physical store does. Some online shopping sites take weeks to deliver your order (though, they're in the minority). Shipping Costs Depending on what you buy, you could spend the same amount on just shipping costs, or sometimes even more. In-store shopping has no need to charge extra for shipping. 8 Ways to Get Free Shipping Every Time You Shop Privacy and Security Privacy and security are legitimate concerns for any online shopper. Your payment information could get stolen from the site, or someone who works there could copy your bank details and use them later on their own purchases. It's also hard to immediately recognize whether an online store is real or just there to scam you. There are precautions you can take when shopping online to make the experience more secure. Paying attention to whether the site uses HTTPS is one example. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit