What’s Better – Shopping Online Or In Stores?
For many of you, it still might be a little early to do your holiday shopping. When you do start your shopping many people may ask which is better; to shop online or to go to stores? In several cases it can really depend on numerous factors. Many people think of Black Friday as a kick off to the holiday shopping season. Consumers will wake up at four in the morning (myself included) to go and get the incredible deals that are being offered. Many of them even have a certain route that they will go to hit up the stores in a certain order to make sure they can get the best deals before everyone else.
But what about everyone who wants to get the great deals, but can not justify getting up at four in the morning to save a few bucks – just hop out of bed and shop online. More times than not, a consumer will be able to get the same deals that they would online as they would when going to the store. According to adweek.com“…buying online saves on trips to the store and gas expenses (53 percent) and makes it easier to compare prices between retailers online than in the store (51 percent), the other top-cited reasons all came back to convenience. The No. 1 reason for shopping online (69 percent) was that “when I buy online I can shop whenever I’d like,” while 57 percent of respondents said it “allows me to avoid the holiday shopping crowds at stores.”
Even though the convenience factor of shopping online is huge, it can make it a little more difficult as well. Since most of the holiday season is spent shopping for other people, consumers want to make sure that the products they are buying are the right size, ensure quality, and ask questions about the product to a sales associate. At the end of the day it all comes down to the consumer and which method of shopping they like better. I know that I usually do a combo of the two. Hard to find items I will purchase online, but toys I will go to the store. Below are some useful tips for when you go shopping this season:
1. Do your research before buying – Compare prices online to make sure you are getting the best deal out there
2. Look for the holiday specials – everywhere is having discounts so paying for full price should not be an option
3. When ordering online, always check for free shipping
4. Use coupons/coupon codes – If you are going to be buying a certain item there is no reason not to get percentage off. A lot of product coupon code can be found online just by doing a simple search
5. Know the return policy of the store/items just in case your item is not a hit
6. Make a list and stick to it – this will help prevent going over budget and buying unnecessary items
I hope that you find these few tips helpful and save you some money. Have a wonderful shopping season!
