For years, the beginning of the school year typically has triggered sales at stores and mall trips with friends for back-to-school clothes and supplies shopping. Even during my own childhood, around early August each year, my mom would take me to retail stores, and each one was bustling with kids of all ages excited for the upcoming school year. However, since people as a whole have adapted to online and virtual living as a result of COVID-19, the shopping world has had a phenomenon of its own. Online shopping has existed for a long time, but ever since the pandemic, people have been shopping online more than ever.
When people were shut in during the pandemic, many local and nationwide grocery stores were affected. For example, stores made their online shopping systems more effective or established ones if they didn’t already have one. However, even though the world has reopened, these stores have kept the online options because people have realized how easy it is to buy their groceries with the touch of a button. Even just at our local Buehler’s I certainly don’t see as many people walking down the aisles of the store as I used to, but I’m always seeing cars going through the online shopping pick-up line.
Groceries aren’t the only products that many people have adjusted to buying online. The online fashion industry has had an increase in use since COVID-19, especially for a Chinese-founded website, Shein. In fact, according to statistica.com, in 2021, it was ranked second in app downloads for both the Apple App Store and Google Play, meaning there were over 31 million downloads between the two app stores. While well-loved stores such as Hollister and Forever 21 are still being shopped at both online and in-store, online stores have become more popular in recent years according to www.tidio.com and other websites due to the convenience of one being able to buy their favorite items immediately by touch screen.
This is no different for back-to-school shopping. According to Morning Consult Pro, more than 2 out of 5 parents used Amazon, one of the most popular online shopping sites, to purchase school supplies for their children. Currently, one can buy pretty much anything online, and oftentimes it’s much easier than shopping in a physical store. However, is it truly best for society?
Even though online shopping is a useful and suitable option for modern-day people with busy schedules, it should not completely dominate the shopping world over physical stores. Shopping in person allows for social interaction that human beings both desire and need and offers a more detailed sales experience. In the words of my fellow classmate, Taylor Rose, “I online shop, but shopping in person allows us to get out and gives us an activity to do, so it shouldn’t go away altogether.” A person is more likely to be completely satisfied with the product they are purchasing if they are fully informed about it, and shopping in physical stores provides the option of being able to talk to sellers face-to-face.
In addition to allowing for face-to-face interaction, physical shopping also has no waiting time, contradictory to online shopping. There’s no shipping fee or backorder involved when purchasing merchandise or goods in-store. Also, malls and stores provide staple locations in a community and should be kept around just for that simple reason. It’s important to keep around traditions even when times change, and something as simple as shopping is no different.
To sum up, online shopping is an incredible option and benefits people who are incapable of getting out often, but should not completely overrule traditional stores. Even though online shopping may be more convenient and faster, it just can’t provide the interaction and immediacy that traditional shopping can. Shopping can be a fun hobby both in person and online. There are certain satisfactions that just can’t be achieved with online shopping as they can with traditional shopping. Online shopping may be easier, but it doesn’t allow one to bond with their friends at the shopping mall or pick out the perfect book from the bookshelf. We may now live in a digital world, but it’s the simple everyday tasks, such as going to a store, that allow us to thrive.
