Is Shopping Online Really as Easy as a Click of the Mouse?

In a world of advancing technology and diminishing spare time, an individual is always trying to save time by completing activities online. By shopping on the internet, a consumer doesn’t need to drive their car or even change out of their pajamas and embarrassing fuzzy rabbit slippers. At first glance, it may seem that online shopping blows shopping in actual stores clear out of the water, but this is not so. When online and store shopping are compared using the important characteristics that consumers look for in a great shopping experience, shopping in a store is better than online shopping.

By shopping online, a customer has to roll the dice and hope for the best when deciding on which size and style to order. Although Wetseal’s website has a webpage that helps a customer to calculate that customer’s size, all garments have their own unique fit. Once, I ordered a medium shirt from Wetseal that, according to the sizing webpage, should have fit me. When I received the shirt, it was too large for me because the material of the shirt made it fit more loosely than most shirts do. Not being able to try on the clothing, an online customer will not know how a piece of clothing will fit their body and not know what size to choose.

A store shopper not only gets to see and feel the clothing that they are interested in, but also is allowed to try on the clothing in a fitting room to find the best fit of each item of clothing. Wetseal has many clean, spacious fitting rooms that allow each customer to try on outfits. When I buy clothes at Wetseal, I pick out the sizes that I think will fit me and then I try them on to find the right size of each item. Without the time consuming and frustrating hassle of size calculations an online customer is faced with when purchasing clothes, a store shopper is pleased to quickly try on clothing to find the sizes that fit that person’s needs. By trying on each article of clothing, the buyer knows that what he or she is buying will fit them, unlike the guessing game that is played when deciding on clothing sizes online.

Like the limited knowledge an online shopper has on which size to pick, Wetseal’s website has limited payment options as well. In order to buy apparel online, a person must pay with an accepted type of credit card or a Wetseal gift card. If I want to buy an outfit at Wetseal online, I can’t unless I use my mom’s credit card. Without her credit card, I wouldn’t be able to buy anything at Wetseal‘s website. Shopping online, a buyer can’t pay for clothing and accessories with cash, checks, money orders or traveler’s checks. For potential customers who have neither a credit card nor a Wetseal gift card, they can’t purchase anything.

Unlike the many payment restrictions an online Wetseal customer is faced with, a store shopper has the luxury of choosing from many payment options. When a customer buys items in a store, that person can pay for their purchases not only with credit cards, but also with cash, checks, money orders, traveler’s checks and debit cards. If the Wetseal store‘s didn’t accept cash, I would not be able to buy anything, because I don’t own a credit card or any other form of payment. Wetseal stores’ many payment options gives more people the opportunity to purchase attire and lets each customer choose which of the many payment options would best suit that customer’s needs.

Once items are purchased, they are brought to the customers home. Purchasing clothes and accessories online requires shipping those items to the buyer’s home. The amount of money the customer is willing to spend on shipping determines how soon that buyer will receive the items that they purchased. The average online shopper, to stay away from high expenses, will ship their items by standard ground shipping, which takes about five to seven business days. When I order clothes online from Wetseal, I use ground shipping and waiting for my items to arrive seems to drag on forever. Even though the apparel is supposed to arrive in five to seven days, it usually takes a few weeks.

Unlike the lengthy time it takes to receive items bought online, buying items in an actual store gives the buyer their items instantly. Last fall, when I needed an outfit to wear later that day to a wedding, I went to Wetseal. I was able to buy an outfit at Wetseal and I had it right away, allowing me wear it that night. If I would have bought the outfit online, I wouldn’t have received it in time for the wedding. When a shopper purchases their clothes in a store, they receive those purchased items the moment they pay for them, enabling the buyer to take their purchases home that day.

At first glance, shopping online seems to be more beneficial than going to an actual store. By considering a few key factors that affect a shopping experience, it is clear that shopping on the internet isn’t time saving and trouble-free at all. By shopping in a store, the customer knows that the items will fit correctly, chooses from many payment choices and gets their purchased items without delay. Shopping online seems as easy as a click of the mouse, but creates more mousetraps than any shopper wants to deal with during their busy day.