It’s official, we are getting lazier and shopping is getting easier to do from bed, in your dressing gown, on the train, when you’re waiting for the kettle to boil or hiding inside from the rain.
We value our time more than anything now and who wants to even think about wasting it to travel into the busy city centre to try on something you probably won’t get to only end up going home with some expensive glittery socks that you definitely did NOT need (or at least you wouldn’t if you didn’t have a habit of finding odd ones under the bed).
And I have just one question…what beats the thrill of returning home to a delivery? A present in the post, a new dress through your letterbox, tomorrow night’s outfit freshly presented in perfect timing. Let’s talk about online shopping VS the high street, and how shopping in person has been crossed off the hobby list and replaced with a mere click and a swipe on an app from a cosy spot in bed…
The Icing On The Cake
The one, annoyingly true, pet peeve of online shopping: delivery charges. Yes, we are paying for the convenience and the little amount of effort it takes for us to receive our wardrobe dreams right on our doorstep within a matter of days, but there’s something un-regrettably irritating about that £5 next day delivery charge when your disorganization has got the better of you.
Asos, amongst a good few other gracefully empathetic brands, present us with premier delivery. The answer to your prayers that costs a one off £9.95 and guarantees you a year’s worth of free next day delivery. One thing that is so very accepted in the world of style is being so very last minute, and this works wonderfully in every fashion lover’s favour.
Asos' premier delivery has changed my life
— Becky (@_beckytom) 10 October 2016
Plus, the extra forgetful ones are granted an escape from the inevitable disaster as midnight represents the final time you can confirm your order to guarantee next day delivery (there’s some sort of Cindarella-esque theme there I’m sure of it). 23:59 on Thursday nights just became very important.
Picture Perfect
The tradition of going shopping with your friends and stopping for coffee-catch-ups along the way is now a distant memory and our most productive moments now come from our very own sofa. One click and your basket is full. But are there any of us left who do enjoy browsing the high street stores? Feeling the fabrics of your wardrobe additions before paying for them? Handing over your credit card on pay day over and over until you, as they say, shop till you drop? Shop-till-your-thumb-is-sick-of-clicking-add-to-basket doesn’t really have the same ring to it, does it?
But much like the 21st century we live in, we love a picture moment and a reason to let everyone know we are having the cutest shopping trip ever, am I right?
And what you don't get with online shopping is an arms full of shopping bags representing a tiring hard day's work…
Will the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle joint with sparkly Christmas lights and flash sale signs ever be topped? Isn't there something a little exciting about wandering down the aisles of new stock, fresh fashion and trendy gifts, rather than clicking between page after page of items we will never know the ins and outs of until it arrives with the postman?
The Facts And Figures
As technologies change, it’s not just the industries that must adapt: the shoppers must change too. Just last month, Missguided did a 50% off deal for 24 hours only. Yes, the site crashed and yes, it did take six hours for my order to go through but my ultimate submission to the new and, quite frankly, the only way to shop granted me the dreamiest high waisted flared trousers for just £12.50. Without my instant email sign-up to the brand, this never would have happened. There are some purchases that the high street stores will not be able to give you, and that will not change.
Figures are telling us that by the end of 2017, mobile transactions will account for a considerable 35% of all retail e-commerce and we will be in full competition with the US. The charm of online shopping continues to cast its spell with the amount Brits spend last Christmas being an impressive £5 billion. Is it its ease and convenience? Or is there something we just enjoy so much more about online shopping? How can we resist when it's right in front of our face?
Only 40 days until Christmas! Shop the Missguided Christmas shop rn: https://t.co/1cZdpPeFzT pic.twitter.com/X5RG2VNowS
— Missguided (@Missguided) 15 November 2016
How much longer will the old tradition survive? There's nothing like browsing through your favourite stores with the real thing right in front of you, right? Feeling the satin, silk or velvet in your hands and knowing that it's straight on your try-on list for the afternoon. Putting together an entire outfit just in one store: socks, necklace, matching satchel and all. Who can resist while you're out? Delivery cost? Not at all when you're your own postman (or postlady in most instances).
But on a final note, pictures only come as cute as this with online deliveries…
