Let’s Talk: The Trend of Online-Shopping

As with many things, online shopping has become a bad habit in today’s world. From buying clothes to buying furniture and now, to buying groceries and having them delivered directly to your home; everything you could ever want and need is right at the tip of your fingers. While this can be convenient for many people, it has also caused a decrease for in-store shopping which has resulted in many companies having to close their doors.

Before covid hit in 2019, online shopping wasn’t half as trendy as it was about to become. It was when lockdowns started happening and contactless shopping was suggested that grocery stores began to enforce curbside pick-ups and at-home deliveries. According to an article called COVID-19 and the Demand for Online Food Shopping Services: Empirical Evidence from Taiwan by Chang Hung-Hao and Chad D. Meyerhoefer, “In the case of food, 21% of survey respondents claimed to have shifted purchases online from retail outlets due to COVID-19, while 18% of respondents did the same for beverage purposes (Chen 2020)” (p. 4). After covid, many people have found themselves plagued with the shopping bug. Customers have grown so accustomed to the accessibility of online shopping that it has become a habit many cannot shake all these years later.

Oftentimes, this habit is linked to self-motivated emotions. Whether it’s sadness, guilt, fear, joy, etc.; many customers have become enslaved to the ‘add to cart’ button. In the article Self-Escapism Motivated Online Shopping Engagement: A Determinant of Users’ Online Shopping Cart Use and Buying Behavior we read, “People cannot simply turn off the self-awareness of painful life moments. They attempt to escape by narrowing the focus of their attention to a specific activity (Heatherton and Baumeister 1991)” (Imran Anwar Mir, p. 44). That activity just happens to be shopping.

Online shopping, whether it’s for groceries, clothes, furniture, or other items, has become a trending bad habit. A frequent Amazon shopper by the name of Ashlee Tregellas claims, “It’s all about self control.” I couldn’t agree more! Ultimately, regardless of where you shop—online or in-stores—there are a few questions you must ask yourself. Am I buying this because others are buying it? Am I buying it because I want it? Or am I buying it because I need it? There, you’ll find yourself on the path of changing your shopping habits.

–Mickayla Tregellas

Resources

Hung‐Hao Chang; Meyerhoefer, Chad D. American Journal of Agricultural Economics; Hoboken (Nov 5, 2020). DOI:10.1111/ajae.12170 https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/covid-19-demand-online-food-shopping-services/docview/2458030945/se-2

Imran Anwar Mir (2023) Self-Escapism Motivated Online Shopping Engagement: A Determinant of Users’ Online Shopping Cart Use and Buying Behavior, Journal of Internet Commerce, 22:1, 40-73, DOI: 10.1080/15332861.2021.2021582

One response to “Let’s Talk: The Trend of Online-Shopping”

Wes Molenaar

October 9, 2023 at 8:02 pm

I agree with your article. But, online shopping is here to stay. In my optometry practice we have decided to be more competitive so we can keep the majority of our patients happy. We can drop-ship their contact lenses direct from the manufacturer which saves us time & still gives our patients convenience of not having to come in to pick up their contacts if they choose not to. We still have a lot of patients that like to stop in, say hello & pick up their contacts. So, we have made adjustments to keep everyone happy with our services.
On a personal shopping note, I was looking for organic oatmeal oats last week & found them online in seconds available at Whole Foods, plus they were shipped via my Amazon Prime. That was interesting. I got them delivered the next day to my front doorstep. If this convenience were not available, I would have had to call several stores or go shopping at random looking for my oats. So, like I said, online shopping is here to stay & every business will have to make adjustments to stay in business. Of course, some businesses can’t do that & they will unfortunately get wiped out, which is sad.

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M. Aline