Free Essay About Online Shopping Research Paper Conclusion

It can be argued that people are becoming more and more accustomed to staying at home and surfing the Internet when they need to buy something and, thus, they are presented with less and less opportunities to actually go out and socialize. Hiding under the guise of convenience, online shopping may very well be one of the causes for the increasing number of people who are not able to properly integrate into society. All in all, despite the overwhelmingly rapid development of online shopping, the traditional shopping is not going anywhere, because it is as much of a social therapeutic activity as it is a utilitarian one.
Studies and statistics define the traditional shopping as a social, leisure and recreational activity, which clearly demonstrates that there is far more to the traditional way of buying goods than a simple purchase. It helps people communicate, find a way to detach from their problems for a brief amount of time, and to socialize in a pleasant way. However, because of the fact that an average individual spends most of the time at work nowadays, the traditional shopping has become a more remote and even desired activity to perform in the free time. For all the times when a person does not have time or ability to engage themselves in traditional shopping process, online shopping comes in handy. Its ease of use for all age groups, relatively quick shopping process and minimal effort needed in order to perform a purchase are one of the key benefits online vendors are basing their marketing strategy on. These strategies, however, are not always clean and honest and are often aimed at deceiving a potential buyer by exploiting the data stored in consumer profiles. Even worse, some of the online shop marketing is directed specifically at children, who are not yet able to make informed and rational decisions and, thus, become an easy prey for the online stores.
After conducting a series of interviews I have put together their results in order to find out what way of shopping people prefer and why. Surprisingly enough, despite all the convenience of online shopping, respondents stated that they are more likely to choose the traditional shopping. This, however, is true for the items, which people prefer to try on or see before purchasing, namely clothes. According to the respondents, clothes are the main product they are shopping for in a traditional way. There is also a tendency among the people to be cautious of shopping online because of the trust issues. 5 out of 8 respondents stated that they are concerned about privacy and safety of their personal data (credit card numbers, names, and phone numbers) online, and, therefore, are reluctant to perform online purchases.
The findings of this research demonstrate that traditional shopping is still prevalent on the market and it is going to remain so because of the many additional perks it presents. Such perks are the social aspect and the increased purchase safety compared to online shopping. Other important aspects are the immediacy of the traditional purchase (compared to often delayed delivery from an online shop) and the ability to visually and tactilely assess the item before purchase. Traditional shopping offers a superior and much more complex and pleasant experience than online purchase.
Online shopping is indeed beginning to catch on with the traditional shopping in terms of how many people prefer and use it regularly. However, it is mainly being used for purchasing electronics and is not aimed at delivering a full shopping experience. People still like to be able to check out products at the stores. Online shopping is rather a convenient extension to the traditional way of buying goods rather than its substitution.