Comparison between online and traditional shopping



Shopping through an online store is entirely a different experience when compared to shopping in a traditional store or showroom. One of the main differences is that you do not get to check the product that you are buying by trying it and getting the feel of it. You need to be satisfied with the images presented in the website and the product description that is presented. Where as with the traditional shopping, you can feel the product and even see the demo of the product which is not possible with real time shopping.

Secondly, you do not get to see the seller. There is no interaction with the seller except for the few clicks of your mouse in his or her website. There is no one to clarify your doubts or concerns that you may have regarding a product before purchasing it. When it comes to online shopping the human element will be totally missing.

No price negotiation is possible in online shopping. You need to buy at the label price that is specified in the online store.

When you use an online store the product has to be shipped to your location always and you cannot have it immediately unlike the traditional shopping where you take home the product that you bought.

These are some of the negative sides of online shopping. In spite of these negative points more and more people go for online shopping and there should be some strong reason for that.

One of the main reasons for the popularity of online shopping is that you can shop anytime from the comfort of your home. You can shop 24 hours a day. You do not have to drive to the shop; the entire online store will be at your disposal and above all you do not have to fight for your parking.

You will be able to select from a wide range of products from various stores. Price comparison is possible with online stores. There are price comparison sites that allow you to select multiple products and compare the price based on the features and cost etc.

Often, you get the products at a cheaper price because the online store is an electronic store and it does require a rented place and does not have the 20 sales assistants that you find in a showroom. So the shop owners do not have to bear the excessive over head costs. You pay only for the product that you buy and not for the sales assistants and the setup.

If you want to buy a gift for your family or friends and if they happen to be staying in a different place then you can ship to them directly.

Also, you can shop for products from any part of the world. However there are some websites that ship only to the US addresses and also they do no accept non-US credit cards. In such cases you can use some reputed online shopping services such as www.comgateway.com and concierge services that help you to shop in websites that do not ship out side the US. By using comGateway.com, you can shop even in those websites that require you to have an US shipping address or US credit card from the following Asia Pacific countries - Singapore, Hong Kong, China Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Republic of Korea.