Buying things on the Internet, such as books, air tickets and groceries, is becoming more and more popular. Do the advantages of shopping in this way outweigh the disadvantages?

E-commerce has dramatically changed the way people do

business

and purchase products and services. With billions of Internet users, online shopping is no longer a theory, rather it has changed people’s lifestyle and buying habits to a greater extent. With the exception of few disadvantages, online shopping has tremendous benefits and it will dominate the global

business

even more in the coming days to make people’s life easier.

To begin

with, online shopping enables consumers to get a service or a product from home. They no longer need to travel a long distance or wait in a long queue to pay their bills or withdraw cash. With the widespread use of the handheld smart devices and the Internet, shopping is just a few finger taps away.

This

saves valuable time and enables people to use plastic money, which is more secure than conventional transactions.

Moreover

, online banking, ticket booking system, e-payment and online-subscriptions facilitate mass people to avoid traffic congestion and help maintain a green environment. From a

business

owner’s perspective, online shopping permits them to run the

business

24x7 and without the need for any extra staff, utility bills and so on.

This

permits them to offer products at a more competitive price.

Furthermore

, consumers enjoy a greater freedom to purchase global products from renowned websites like eBay and Amazon and compare the quality and price of a product before making a purchasing decision. Perhaps the most noticeable benefit of

this

trend is the unparalleled opportunity it has brought for ordinary people to open their own online shops and run small businesses online.

This

would never have happened without the boom of online

business

trends. Among the drawbacks of online shopping, identity theft and digital scams are more common. Careless use of a credit card or sensitive personal information can often invite intruders and hackers to harm someone.

Finally

, online shopping does not allow someone to physically inspect a product before buying it and

this

often leads to customer dissatisfaction.

However

, these demerits can easily be avoided by being cautious and relying on reputed brands. To conclude, the overwhelming benefits online shopping offers far outweigh the few demerits it has. I personally am an online shopper and I believe that

this

has immensely improved our freedom of shopping and lifestyle.