Is online shopping worth it?

When it comes to managing your budget, there are two ways to approach money: make more and spend less.
And something we discuss quite often around here is whether your time is better spent trying to make more money or trying to save more money.
There is no right and wrong answer to that question, but one thing is for sure, what we are trying to optimize is time.
If I have more money, I can afford to not work one afternoon, and spend that time with my family and friends, or doing something I truly enjoy.
If I don’t need to spend that much, I don’t need so much money, and I can also afford more freedom.
When trying to free up more time in my life, something I have come to thoroughly enjoy is online shopping.
Think about it. Say you want to buy a laptop for example. Instead of having to go to a store, check out the three or four laptops they have on display that do fit your budget, and then moving out to the next store, and the next store,… to finally realise the first one around was the right fit, going back, picking it up, waiting in line to pay, and driving home, you can browse five stores online at the same time, fill your cart, get offered automatically the right add-ons like cases or portable hard drives, and receive it at a convenient time without having to leave the house!
And it’s not just about the time you would spend driving around the different stores. It is the cost of running your car, the temptation to buy other things in store, and so on.
With Christmas just around the corner, when I think about High Street shopping, I see so many drawbacks. The streets packed with people, having to stand on your feet for hours on end because everything takes so much longer when thousands of people are doing the same thing you are, plus that weather! Who wants to be running in the rain with presents that risk being damaged?
You got it, I am a fervent online shopper. There are very few things that I deem worthy of buying in store. I like thrift stores because they offer a bargain, and I’d rather buy a £5 dress offline than a brand new £50+ dress online. But for other items of clothing that I want to buy new, like running shoes or underwear, I know my size, I know the brands I like, and you won’t find me in a store looking for these. It’s more, for the past few years, I’ve been buying the same pair of running shoes, I must be on my fourth pair now, because I am too lazy to shop for a better brand. Mine do the job, they are well padded to minimize the impact on my knees, and they haven’t given me a reason to look around for something else. That’s how little I enjoy shopping, so online stores are a blessing.
Does that resonate with you? Check out that infographic to see how the rest of the country does in-store and online shopping!