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?

With the growth of technology, e-shopping is getting trendier day-by-day, almost overtaking the conventional way, we used to shop, which required people to visit the shop physically, do all sorts of bargaining and compare items from store-to-store. Shopping over the internet, whether it be for books, flight tickets or any kind of day-to-day groceries, has eased human lives, in lots many ways, but not without some downsides, and

this

essay will illustrate on various advantages of e-shopping, while cautioning on few negatives, and conclude that its advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. On one side, shopping online is far more convenient, saving a lot of time and effort for customers, enabling us to browse products at the comfort of our home, irrespective of the location of the product, whether local or international and buy these products with just the click of a mouse. It has powered shoppers to compare products online, around multiple locations and various brands and choose the best one, befitting their requirements and their budget. All features of a particular commodity can be known by going through its specifications online, which

also

educates customers on its usage, so that they are able to make an informed decision, before committing to a certain product. All that remains is just to make an e-payment and wait for the shipping to arrive at their door-step.

For example

, Amazon, the biggest and most popular e-commerce portal, displays products from a-to-z, and has millions of e-customers, around the globe.

On the contrary

, looking at the downside of e-shopping, there are many day-to-day scams involved with e-payments, where-in customers end up paying for the products which they never receive. With their credit card information over the internet, there is misusage of their personal data by scammers and they are charged for the products, which they have never purchased. According to recent research conducted in Singapore, every year, more than 20 million dollars are lost by Singaporeans as victims of online scam.

This

is causing a lot of mistrust and is a growing concern with online shoppers.

Additionally

, with the growth of e-shopping, people are adapting to a more sedentary lifestyle, as they do not need to visit any malls for shopping and just have to keep glued to their laptop or mobile phones, for anything they need.

This

is causing significant health problems, amongst the new generation.

However

, the government is tightening online security and taking appropriate measures to curb these issues and

also

raising awareness among the masses, to ensure that they protect their personal data and not be a victim of phishing websites. In the coming times, we can expect to do online shopping with almost full confidence, without worrying about any online thefts or scams.

Additionally

, through health awareness measures, being taken, people are ensuring that they carry-on an active lifestyle. To recapitulate, the benefits of online shopping is greatly appreciated by customers all around the world, with the benefits and the ease it offers. With the measures suggested and already being worked on by the government, e-shopping will certainly flourish . The trend of e-shopping will continue for generations to come, for good.