A look at shopping on the internet and whether it is always the best option.
Everyone’s done it; walked into a shop the size of a football field and about 17 floors high, felt the intimidation and helplessness with not knowing where to start and turned around to walk straight out of a door.
This might very well be a snapshot of how people also react to shopping on the internet. Shopping online is effectively like walking into a shop that never ends, so how can anyone be expected to find go online and find what they need amongst the myriad of insurance schemes and performance enhancing pills?
There are several things you can do actually to save aimlessly wandering around the web. The obvious first choice is to visit the sites of reputable companies you know. If your favourite brand have a website, it will be an extension of their physical store so as well as being a trustworthy source it also affords you the convenience of being able to browse their product or service catalogue without getting out of your chair.
But what if you need something that your favourite brand cannot supply you with? Search engines! Search engines are one of the main ideas that stop the internet from becoming that never-ending shop from which you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. By simply entering whatever you need into a search engine, the internet will direct you to the exact section you need to be in. Surely this saves a lot more aimless wandering around trying to spot what you need?
Let’s say you are shopping around for car insurance, you have found a couple of deals but aren’t sure which one is the best one for you. Why not compare them? When they aren’t busy creating annoying adverts, comparison websites are a great way to scour the internet for the best deals available and pull them all together in one area so you can compare them against each to see which one best suits your needs. As well as saving a lot of searching, this method can also save you money by making you aware of offers which you possibly weren’t aware of.
So the answer to whether online shopping is your friend or foe? Online shopping is your friend, but only if you want it to be. If you’re the tangible type who needs to feel a product in your hands before you buy it, the option is still there. That being said, the internet is around as a way to make shopping easier, quicker and in some cases cheaper so don’t be afraid, give it a go.
Davina Janes writes on behalf of D H Design