Attention Shoppers

In 2023, over 265 million U.S. shoppers are estimated to buy online. Further, the percentage of worldwide sales resulting from online purchases is expected to rise from 18.8% in 2021 to 20.8% in 2023, and to reach 24.0% by 2026.

These numbers reflect the dramatic shift toward online shop-ping in recent years’ a trend that started before the pandemic but was strengthened by it. The change is no surprise, given the convenience, selection, and pricing of ecommerce options. It’s important to note that online shopping has its drawbacks, such as the potential for fraud or stolen packages. But, for many consumers, the pros far outweigh the cons. From groceries to clothing to furniture, consumers are discovering ever-changing ways to get the items they need.

In the following sections, we delve more into what shoppers like and dislike about the online shopping experience, as well as look at evolving trends such as fun subscription services, changing consumer and retailer habits both online and off, and ways to protect yourself from the dangers of today’s ecommerce environment.

Keep your device and credit card handy, because these pages are sure to give you some great ideas for your next online purchase.

There’s So Much to Like About Shopping from Home

While the pandemic was instrumental in forcing more people to shop online, the practice had already been increasing for many years prior. Here are a few of the reasons why.

Convenience
Ecommerce offers numerous advantages over traditional shopping at brick-and-mortar stores. You can place orders from anywhere, easily compare products from different stores, and get your items delivered right to your doorstep – sometimes the next day.

Selection
The selection of items available for purchase online is virtually limitless, which means finding the specific product you want is as easy as a few clicks. Plus, you can consider all the possibilities without pushy sales-people looking over your shoulder.

Money Management
The ability to easily shop around helps you find the best deals, while digital coupons, loyalty programs, and social media promotions enable even greater savings. Free shipping is often an added bonus, as is the ability to spread out payments over time.

Painless Returns
Many online retailers make it more appealing to shop online with perks including painless returns. Third-party services like Happy Returns (happyreturns. com) make these transactions even simpler, allowing customers to drop items off at a return center — no packaging required.

Easy Gifting
Need to buy a gift for someone? It’s never been easier. If you know what you want, you can have it gift wrapped and shipped to their home. If you don’t know what you want, you can perform a search based on the person’s age, gender, and interests.

Don’t Forget There are Downsides

While the benefits of shopping online are well known, they’re not the whole story. Here are a few things shoppers dislike about the experience.

• 24/7 availability. The “always-on” nature of ecommerce can be considered a benefit. But, for those with a tendency to overspend, it can be dangerous.
• Lack of assistance. Unlike at a traditional store, there’s often no one around to answer questions you may have about the products.
• Complicated websites. Not all ecommerce sites are created equally. Some are difficult to navigate, don’t provide adequate product descriptions, or have a clunky checkout process.
• Solitary nature. Online shopping is typically done alone, so you miss out on getting together with friends or even just seeing other shoppers in the physical world.
• Uncertain quality. Without being able to touch or test products, you can’t be sure the quality is up to your standards.

One of the biggest challenges of all is that some ecommerce sites aren’t what they seem. They may look like normal shopping sites but end up being scam operations that take your money without sending you anything in return.