Online shopping is now replacing shopping in the store . Do you think it is a positive or negative development?

In the twenty-

first

century, an unprecedented level of convenience has descended upon the lives of people in the developed world. It is now easy to order food or shop over the internet at the click of a button.

This

has brought numerous advantages and a few disadvantages, too. Buying things online has been a huge boon for the average person. Without overhead costs to pay, companies can afford to sell things for extraordinarily cheap prices, and they are all competing with one another for customers, giving the average person an incredible range of bargains.

This

applies to

buying

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buy

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almost anything, from food to clothes to cars. Obviously,

this

is a tremendous advantage that has shaped the way we live. It is

also

good for businesses because small companies can now compete, to some extent, with major retailers.

However

, there are disadvantages and these primarily affect the businesses.

First

and foremost, the rise of internet shopping has consolidated huge power in the hands of companies like Amazon, who

were

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was

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the

first

to really take advantage of the situation.

As a result

, high street shops have been closing at an alarming rate. With rent to pay, they simply cannot compete with online stores.

This

also

affects customers to some degree because those who don’t want to shop online now have to walk through deserted city centres and find that their favourite shops are now closed. Soon, it seems, shopping online will be the only way to purchase things. In conclusion, shopping online has greatly changed our society, and it has done so in both positive and negative ways, and it is hard to say whether one outweighs the other. If you are a customer, certainly the positives seem greater, but for business owners

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,

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the negatives are definitely more severe.