The days when you had to plan and draft a long list for your shopping in the malls over the weekend are long over. Everything that you can find in your across the road offline mall is just a click away. All you have to do is search the numerous online shopping portals then compare the prices and choose. Using your credit card, Paypal, Skrill, plus a wide range of other online payment options available, you can pay for your order and wait for delivery. Shopping is nowadays this simple and convenient.

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There are many reasons why different people prefer to either shop online or offline. The main determinant of the choice between the two is mainly the individual lifestyles and the prevailing circumstances. Some people stay alone and when they fall sick, offline shopping becomes unfavorable as they lack someone to send to the malls. If you are pregnant and all alone in the house or just delivered and still exhausted, you may not have the energy to drive to the supermarket for shopping. You can easily order whatever you require online without being inconvenienced in any way. The same applies to disabled persons who may be forced to rely on online shopping since they don’t have someone they can send.

On the other hand, the choice between online and offline shopping is dependent on the personal preferences of individuals. Some people prefer local products that may not be found online. It is also safer to purchase perishables offline as they can go bad during shipping when shopped online. This is closely related to the time factor. Online shopping may be efficient where there is no urgency. If you require a produce the same day, getting to the nearest retail outlet and getting it is faster than ordering online where shipping can take as long as ten days. There are some companies that do same-day shipping but this is rarely guaranteed as logistical issues are bound to crop up and delay delivery.

The inability to feel and taste the products people purchase online is one of the main setbacks of online shopping. Reliance on the display pictures alone is not sufficient. There are times you may order and get a fake or wrong product delivered. Having such deliveries replaced may take like forever and you may be inconvenienced. When shopping offline, you can test and authenticate the quality of everything you want to purchase. This way, you avoid buying a fake or poor quality product.

Both online and offline shopping have advantages as well as disadvantages. Depending on the nature of the product, availability, payment methods, urgency of need, personal preferences and lifestyle, you can decide to use either. Many people use both in different situations.

This was a guest post by Mary from Storetec Direct, a leading supplier in the UK of shopping trolleys and display systems for retail.