Since 2020 – you know, That Year – our lives happen more and more inside our own homes. The Great Resignation and the WFH revolution mean that many of us lead the majority of our lives out of our homes. It’s convenient! And shopping is no different. In the advent of a new age of home life, the advantages of online shopping are endless.
The top 6 advantages of online shopping
Advantage 1: easy price comparisons = better budgeting
In ye olde days of shopping, driving around to three different malls to find the best price for a product would land up doing more harm than good to your budget in fuel costs alone. Nowadays, it couldn’t be easier to compare the prices of the same product on different websites.
Advantage 2: find what you need, fast
Gone are the days when you’d have to wander the aisles and hallways of a supermarket, calling feebly to a busy attendant that you’re trying to find the right brand of nappies for your wailing toddler. One of the advantages of online shopping is that it takes seconds to look up the product you need with a built-in search tool. If they’ve got it, you bag it.
Online shopping also offers a lot more transparency upfront. You can find out instantly if the thing you’re looking for is in stock (and in the colour you want) instantly. It’s not like you have to rock up to the store in question before you find out that the item you’ve been looking forward to picking up all day sold out a few hours ago. Also, you’ll never have to beg an exasperated employee to “check in the back” ever again.
Advantage 3: ditch the crowds! No hustle, no hassle
One of the greatest advantages of online shopping for natural introverts is the fact that you don’t have to face a pushy salesperson. There is almost no pressure with online shopping. You can take your time, read up on the product description, and sip a cup of freshly brewed chamomile tea at leisure.
Moreover, although COVID restrictions have lifted substantially in South Africa, shopping in crowded areas can still pose a health concern for some. Online shopping gives you the choice to look after your health the way you want to.
Advantage 4: online shopping means less stress
The process of getting into your car, working out a route to the nearest brick-and-mortar store, reversing into a tight parking spot, finding the product you need, and getting home in rush hour is enough to occasion a coronary. Also, you can forget about trying to squeeze that in during your lunch break or after work. Depending on what you’re trying to buy, most stores close at just about the time you’ve arrived after fighting bumper-to-bumper traffic for 45 minutes.
So, most of your shopping tends to happen on the weekends – when everyone else is also trying to get their shopping in. Your downtime shouldn’t be spent inside of a mall. Weekends are for enjoying your purchases, not trying to procure them!
Advantage 5: online shopping is the king of convenience
One of the undeniable advantages of online shopping is the sheer convenience. Unlike shopping IRL, shopping online demands almost none of your time and energy. More importantly, you can do it literally any time, anywhere. Only got five minutes between Zoom calls? No problem. Do your shopping during your commute, on a bathroom break, in the comfort of your lounge at midnight while wearing your favourite pyjamas. Working hours don’t apply to your shopping habits anymore, as long as you’re willing to wait for it to be delivered to your door!
Advantage 6: variety is the spice of life!
Volume and variety are some of the more obvious advantages of online shopping. You just can’t beat the range of options that online shopping can afford you. Without the constraints of a single location, most stores can offer you a bigger range of their products online than they can in-store. That means that your favourite items are that much more likely to be in stock!
Conclusion
There are so many reasons why online shopping is the king of convenience – we’ve just shared our top 6 reasons why it’s the best! It gets even better when you add Payflex into the mix. Payflex lets you buy your online purchases now and only pay for them later. Four equal payments, six weeks, zero interest. See for yourself how well Payglee online directory.