Online Shopping versus Brick and Mortar Store

Com/170
June 4, 2014
Casie James
Online Shopping versus Brick and Mortar Store Why go into the stores to shop when you can stay home and shop online? There are many consumers who shop online nowadays, and they are not going into the stores. Some believe that it is better to shop online than the brick and mortar store. There are some consumers who believe the opposite is true. There can be many arguments made about which method of shopping is better. Both shopping online and shopping in brick and mortar store have their own positive and negative points. It is up to the consumers to determine which is for them. There are many differences when comparing shopping online and in a brick and mortar store. The main differences of shopping online compared to shopping in a brick and mortar store are the convenience, customer service, and merchandise. Shopping online is more convenient to consumers, because the consumers can just shop at home anytime. The consumers do not have to worry about making it the store before the store closes. They can shop whenever they want, day or night even late at night. The consumers do not need to drive around, waste gas, and sit through traffic to get to the store. The consumers do not deal with the frustration of looking for parking in a crowded parking lot. They do not have to wait in long lines or walk around in crowded stores. Consumers can just order their merchandise online and have it shipped to their homes without having to get dressed. They do not have to deal with pushy sales people trying to get a sale. While shopping in a brick and mortar store the consumers, have to drive there, waste gas and time to deal with the crowded parking lots. They have to sit through slow traffic to get to the stores. When going to the store one must get dressed, put on pants and shirt while online shopping consumers can just wear their pajamas. Even though, sales people can be pushy, they can be helpful at times. Sometimes that help can come in handy. Even though, shopping online is convenient there is no customer service. Customer service is where there is a person that can provide the consumers with any help they may need. Shopping online has no customer service; there is no one there to ask for help. The consumers cannot ask questions about the merchandise such as how does the merchandise might fit and how does the sizing run. Even though, there are many reviews that are online which the consumers can read. However the reviews are written by other consumers and not by trained associates. Where in a brick and mortar store there is an associate there to provide assistance. The associate is a well trained person who can answer any questions about the products as well as educate on how to use them. They can also help put together an outfit or provide other complementary suggestions to the original merchandise. They can also check other stores for the merchandise if they have the item or have it shipped to the consumer’s home if needed. While shopping online consumers cannot try the merchandise prior to purchasing. The merchandise cannot be touched or felt when shopping online. Consumers do not know how it would feel, or if the material is the kind that they want. If the consumers want something that is soft to touch they cannot tell if it is when shopping online because they cannot touch or feel the item. Shopping online makes it impossible to try the merchandise on to see if it even fits. Not all clothes fit the same as other clothes. Most clothing designers make their sizes different than other designers’ sizes. One might fit in a large in one designer and wear a medium in another designer. Most designers, today, are following the slim fit trend and make cuts smaller than before. Some consumers might have to go a size larger than they would previously have in a certain designer