Everyone seems to love online shopping and the instant gratification of having a package instantly being sent, landing on your doorstep the next day. However, despite popular opinion, I am actually not a big fan of online shopping. In a world where stores are being closed down and replaced with online shops and where the majority of stores are focusing on their online experience instead of the in-store experience, I am becoming frustrated.
When I shop I like to see the item before I buy it. When you online shop all you see is an edited photograph of an item they are trying to sell. I can not tell you how many times I have bought an item, whether that be a shirt, pillow or sheet set and it’s not like the picture. I have bought see-through shirts, a striped sheet set that looked grey and a pillow that wasn’t the same color as the picture. I like to see what I am buying. They make the pictures to attract consumers, but sometimes it isn’t what it looks like. I can’t tell if the pillow is soft and fluffy or hard and scratchy online, no matter how cute it looks.
Along the line of clothing, I like trying on clothing in stores. Despite many websites having generic sizing charts, they usually aren’t accurate. I once bought a pair of skinny jeans, not only where they straight leg and not skinny, but they didn’t fit me despite going off the size chart. It utterly bothers me when I find something I like online and they don’t have a nearby store or they’re an online store. I like trying to open my clothing before I buy them so not only to I make sure it fits, I make sure I like it on me. I know so many people who see something on a model and mannequin and think it’s so cute, to try it on and hate it.
If you are like most people, you hate returning items. I hate returning items, if it was cheap enough, sometimes I’m like I’ll just keep it or donate it. Shipping things back to most companies is such a hassle. You didn’t need to leave your house to buy it, but you need to leave to return it. On top of that companies are starting to make returning products harder. It’s such a hassle to send things back. That isn’t even touching on the ethical issues with online shopping. I just really don’t like online shopping.