Has Covid-19 changed our shopping habits
Has Covid-19 changed our shopping habits
It would seem people of all ages and backgrounds are primed to continue shopping online, even though most retailers have opened their doors in what has been one of the most prolonged and most expensive lockdowns since records were first collected.
Will this trend continue, or will people, once the dangers of COVID-19 have passed, revert to shopping in traditional brick and mortar retail outlets?
Perhaps time will only tell; however, recent surveys carried out in Europe suggest that at least two out of every five persons will continue to shop online, now that they have discovered both the benefits and simplicity of this modern-day online retail experience.
Whereas in the past, anyone wanting to find a gift or a top-quality bargain would have to go into town and window shop for hours on end, today they can, with just the click of a mouse and a worthwhile internet connection, partake in the newfound trend known as “e-browsing” a trend which shows every sign of both multiplying and continuing.
This transition to online shopping has, it would appear, not gone unnoticed by some retailers who, to entice people back into their shops, have resorted to combining the ability to shop online with actual in-store enticements using procedures aptly named “webrooming,” or “showrooming.” This new form of window shopping is where the potential customer views the product online, then visits the store to pick up the article, hence doing away with the now dangerous act of in-store browsing.
Of course, as far as this writer is concerned, why take the bother of going online to find the product you require, then travel into town to pick it up when you could quite go to a reliable online shopping retailer, pick up the article at perhaps half the price you would have found in a high street shop, then click a mouse, and have it shipped directly to your home, usually the day after ordering.
Yep, for me, the easier my shopping is, the more I will purchase, and the more I will probably save.
So what should I be looking for when choosing a good online retailer?
Longevity and online presence is a crucial indicator of how good and reliable an online retailer is.
Companies like “Amazon,” BargainBrute,” “Walmart,” and “eBay” for example, have been selling online for many years, so it stands to reason they have become successful because of their reliability and forward-thinking customer services.
Contact: You must not, in any circumstances, do any online business with an online company, that does not indicate where they come from, who they are, how to contact them, and of course, what will happen if you do not like a product once it has been delivered directly to your front door.
Always check in your browser that the company website address has, directly to the left of it, a little green padlock (an encryption device that protects you from any illegal release of your personal information). It will also go towards protecting you from any unwanted tracking devices such as cookies etc.
Do not be afraid to browse around. After all, that’s why we have the internet in the first place. It can be pretty shocking as to the difference some retailers sell their products.
Be careful as to hooks, a term used in the retail industry, especially within traditional brick and mortar outlets where products are put on display, at the end of an aisle, in the hope that customers will snap them up believing they are of suitable value, nine times out of ten they are not and the retailer rakes in thousands of extra dollars.
Authors note: The online retailer version of a hook are pop-ups, those infuriating adverts which pop up displaying a product that you have absolutely no interest in buying but do, in some cases, to get rid of the pop-up.
Take a good look at their return and refund policy which you can usually find on the website “About Page,” companies who are attempting to hide anything from their clients typically have an extremely short about page, and in some cases, do not bother to have one at all.
BargainBrute.Com, one of my favorite online retailers, devotes a whole four pages of their site to explain their contact details, return and refund policies, and shipping policies. You name it, you will find it there.
What do I think of this sudden progression over to online shopping?
I, for one, celebrate the ongoing progression over to online shopping. For me, it is not just a matter of changing my shopping habits as I have for some time now embraced the act of “webrooming,” why would I not? For me, it is a no-brainer, why would I spend a small fortune on gas and parking charges, when, like so many others, I can shop virtually from the comfort of my own home and, what’s more, when it is convenient to me.
So in answer to our question at the top of this short narrative, Has Covid-19 changed our shopping habits? For me, no, as I have, for many years, shopped online, both safely and with enjoyment. However, I believe that COVID-19 has changed the shopping habits of millions as they, too, because of the COVID lockdown, discovered how they could shop online, both safely, enjoyably, and above all, with confidence.
Well, folks, I have come to the end of my little foray into “webrooming” and “showrooming,” so on behalf of the Vandergraph family and every employee at Bargainbrute.com, together we “Thank you for shopping with us today.”
Pop in tomorrow and join the thousands who have made BargainBrute.Com their favorite place to shop online. I know you will not regret it.
Bottom line, if there is a bargain out there, then BargainBrute has it.
Best place to shop and save money
