Online Shopping: A Convenience and a Curse
The holidays in the United States have marked the highest rates of online shopping ever. Instead of going into stores, most Americans chose to purchase their gifts from the convenience of their own home. According to Business Insider, American holiday retail rose three percent from last year, meaning that American consumers spent more even though many had less this year. This increase is largely due to online shopping options. Online shopping has become easier than ever due to the steady developments in shopping technology, such as auto-fill, free shipping offers, and buy-in-app features.
The world has moved from using cash, to plastic, and then to the click of a button. Though credit card auto-fill technology has been around for a long time, it has a lot to do with the convenience of shopping online. Shopping websites and Chrome save credit card information; instead of fishing through your wallet, all you have to do is click a button. For many Americans, a saved credit card means that the experience of shopping is quicker, but it also removes the online shopping process further from reality. There is no exchange or transaction of money, making what you spend seem arbitrary.
The introduction of free shipping has also incentivized online shopping. From a consumer perspective, free shipping is great! In fact, free shipping saves you the money that you would have spent on travel to and from the store. Larger retailers in the United States, like Walmart, Target, and Amazon, either offer free shipping on all orders, with a membership, or for a qualifying purchase of a certain amount. Thanks to new business analytic programs, retailers have realized that the benefits outweigh the costs. Larger companies can afford to ship for free because they will absorb the losses. Their hope is that you purchase enough that it offsets the cost of shipping less and that the free shipping attracts new customers.
Just as auto-fill settings and free shipping make online shopping easier, Instagram has created a new technology that makes finding and purchasing clothing a smoother process. You might have seen a celebrity or a social media personality wearing a shirt or a pair of shoes that you like, but in order to find the same exact article of clothing, you have to search Google many times to find exactly what you want. With a recent Instagram update, this problem is solved. Instagram content creators and online boutiques can easily attach links to their clothing pictures. By clicking the link, you are sent to their website to purchase the clothing. With one of the latest updates, there is a new option, and you don’t need to leave the Instagram app to purchase the clothing! You can enter your shipping and credit card information directly into Instagram.
While these updates have made our lives easier, how do we know when we should purchase something online or purchase something from a real store? This question is especially difficult to answer during the pandemic because our health is at stake when we choose to go into stores. During normal times, it might be more important to distinguish between online and in-person shopping. Online shopping can cause environmental degradation, harm to small businesses, and strains on shipping companies.
By choosing to purchase items online and ship them, we are using more packaging and emitting more emissions. In order to reach your home, products may have to travel across the country. At the warehouse, they are packed into cardboard boxes with plastic bubble wrap to protect them during the shipping process. From plane to truck to car, the transportation that takes a product to travel from the warehouse to your house is likely more environmentally degrading than purchasing something from the shop in your town. Purchasing locally is also a way to help small businesses during this time. In the United States, so many shops that people love had no choice but to close down because of reduced sales.
Another issue that many Americans have faced this holiday season was delayed shipping. Combined with recent structural changes in its organization, the United States Postal Service experienced delays this holiday season due to the increase in packages being sent. Even though it is days after Christmas, many Americans have still not received their packages. By choosing to purchase locally during times of high mail traffic, you may reduce the waiting time for a package and reduce slowdowns in the postal service. Mail slowdowns might not be the case for all countries, but it is reassuring to know exactly when and how you are going to buy something, especially if you need it for a certain day.
Though avoiding online shopping is good for the environment and for small businesses, the reality is that it’s hard to completely avoid online shopping. Some products are easy to purchase in local stores while others are not. The rise of technology has made online shopping more attractive than ever, especially during the holiday season. Within the last month, Americans have shopped online more than they ever have. It would be somewhat unreasonable to completely avoid online shopping, but we can make sure that we reduce how often we choose to use it.
Vocabulary list:
convenience (adj.) - easily accessible, easy to obtain
transaction (n.) - the exchange of goods and services for money
arbitrary (adj.) - a random choice, not based on reason
incentivize (v.) - providing an incentive or a reward for an action
retailer (n.) - business that sells products to the public
“at stake” (phrase) - something at risk
degradation (n.) - a thing that has become worn down, often from overuse
emit (v.) - to release into the air or environment
warehouse (n.) - a large building where excess goods are stored
transportation (n.) - the movement of goods or people from one place to another
slowdown (n.) - a delay in progress or action
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bridgette Lang is an undergraduate student studying International Relations at Boston University. On campus, she helps run a collegiate Model United Nations Conference and manages finances for BU College Democrats. In her free time, Bridgette enjoys traveling, trying to learn Spanish, and visiting with her friends and family back home in Pennsylvania.