UNITED STATES—Let me ask you an honest question: do you prefer to shop online or in-person? Think about that for a moment before you provide an answer. There was a time not too long ago where online shopping didn’t even exist. It didn’t start to gain its traction until the mid to late 90s. It started to explode in the 2000s, and as of today, it seems to be the preverbal way to shop for many Americans.
However, it begs the question: WHY? What is it about online shopping that leaves people so excited? I think it is this notion that you can get things so fast and quick with Amazon. However, is it truly fast and quick because that two-day shipping with Amazon Prime and that next day shipping is feeling more and more like a thing of the past. Things are constantly being delayed, and the more you think about it, not all is as it seems.
You’re told one thing, then a delay unfolds and then that delay turns into another delay. It can indeed be frustrating because you might be expecting something that doesn’t arrive when you expect it. What does that mean? There is another option: you can go directly to the store and pick it up in person. The immediate response I get to that is what if the store doesn’t have that item? Well, you can always go elsewhere, and even if they don’t have the item, you have gotten out the house.
Online shopping has made us lazier than ever as a society and that is not a good thing at all. It will indeed have an impact on our health and our overall ability to communicate with others in society. You can’t really communicate with a computer screen even though so many of us think we can because of AI. AI is just that a computer, not a real person.
For me, I have and will always be an agent of shopping in person. I like to interact with people, I like to see the items I’m purchasing, and I like the notion of having it right and now and not having to wait for a doorbell to ring or NOT HAVE ANY IDEA WHEN MY ITEM WILL BE DELIVERED AND HOPING IT IS DELIVERED TO THE APPROPRIATE HOME. I cannot tell you how many times I have ordered something online only for that item to be dropped off at the wrong home. Beyond annoying and frustrating at the same time.
This is so true for any form of clothing. I see so many more people returning items they purchased online that it baffles me to the core. What is the purpose of buying clothing online if you don’t know if it’s going to fit or it it’s something you even want to begin with? If you try the clothing on, you don’t have to worry purchasing something that doesn’t fit your aesthetic or style, or worse something that doesn’t fit at all.
I’m in total agreement with a lot of these companies started to charge people for making returns in person for items purchased online. For all the people complaining about online shopping being so convenient, you better start asking yourself the question of what happens when the brick-and-mortar stores start disappearing. Many have already become a thing of the past, Sears, K-Mart, Toys ‘R Us, Circuit City, Payless, Rite Aid, Lord & Taylor, Joann Fabrics and those are just a few on the top of my head. Hell, you have stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus which might be in trouble because its corporate titan has filed for bankruptcy. That is a scary thing. So, you might start to think about going to that establishment in person to get what you need and not purchase online.
Why? Sooner or later, you may not be able to go in person at all to make that return if you have to do so.
