Purchasing different products online is becoming more widespread among people. There are positive consequences of this development as it is more convenient in terms of time and it expands buyers’ opportunities. Nevertheless, the drawbacks of online shopping are decreasing socialisation and decline in customers of shops and boutiques. Personally, I think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of buying things online and in this essay I will explain my position.
On the one hand, purchasing products online helps people to save their time since it is much faster. You can view all the items on your screen, not going around a mall. Also, you can search for a specific item you need and see different options, which is really helpful. For example, an app called “Wildberries” which is an online shopping service is becoming more and more popular in Kazakhstan since many people prefer to buy things online rather then go shopping. Moreover, the Internet gives an opportunity to buy items from all over the world and deliver it to your house. For instance, I can buy clothes from “H&M” using their website, even though there is no stores of this brand in my city. Therefore, buying things online contributes to saving people’s time and making purchases from stores in different parts of the world.
On the other hand, people are socialising less because shopping has become an online activity now. Buying clothes or other items can be a great way to spend time with your friends, however, now many individuals do it using the Internet, which results in decrease of social skills and the desire to socialise. Another problem is that malls and shops are facing a decline in customers because many of them decide to buy products online. As a result, they may go bankrupt, which leads to a negative economic impact. For example, an online shopping service called “Temu” was banned in Kazakhstan because it offers very cheap products and citizens started to buy clothes only from this app, which led to closure of many shops. However, in my opinion, the advantages outweigh the drawbacks because socialisation is not only going shopping, but also hanging out with your friends, going to school or university together and people still actively engage in such activities. Moreover, even though online shopping is becoming popular, offline shopping is still pretty common and there are people who prefer trying on clothes in real life, so I do not think all of the malls are going to go bankrupt and close.
Summing up, buying things on the Internet has both drawbacks such as decreasing socialisation and closure of real-life shops, however, there is no dangers or risks from these. Advantages, such as diversity of stores and convinience, outweigh the disadvantages.