[SN88]

My online spends increased drastically sometime back due to the ease of purchasing and discounts etc. They started playing on the head with the barrage of big discounted products which were so tempting to buy but which I never needed.

Sense prevailed while doing a clean up of the house one day. I realised I had multiple speakers, headphones, so many shoes, useless accessories and my daughter had toys she used as fillers in any empty part of the house!!

I checked my credit card statement a month back and realised we ordered from zomato worth Inr 55k in 1 month and we are a family of 3 ( 3rd being a 3 year old child) !! All this due to the ease of just buying it with a click and laziness to decide what to cook at home ( guess what: we even have a cook at home! ) Felt like a complete moron and decided to cut down on all this and just use these platforms when actually needed. This month my spends have been less than half of what it used to be!

[Mafia]

This question is wrong.

We are stepping into the golden age of e-commerce. I was driving through a very commercial part of Bangalore and we were discussing how the place has evolved in the past 30-40 years. How jam-packed the shops are. All of us did feel that it is only downhill from here for physical retail businesses. The online price advantage is un-beatable. I can buy almost whatever at a good price without spending on fuel or much time, at home.

Online platforms are not perfect. They have their own issues. Delivery issues, fake goods, damaged goods, time is taken, etc. I have not even scratched the surface of the online platform issues here.

what you have to understand is, I login into an online platform and I can buy a variety of things without having to burn expensive fuel to get it home.

We have resisted online shopping for a long time. Now we buy medicines at 15% discount (don't have to be at the mercy of the local chemist for stocking, this was a big issue in the second wave when all of were down with Covid and had to order online) , groceries electronics, car parts, toys, books, textbooks, stationery, footwear even clothes on the team-bhp shop. The cost-saving and time saving you get by not even going out of your house are tremendous.

I don't support the idea of how e-commerce companies do business, the whole 3rd party logistics, and the fees, the pressure on the seller to sell at a price, the stocking charges, etc. I as a consumer will be selfish and think only about how much savings I will get. If it is bad for the producer/retailer/manufacturer, I am sorry. I am my priority. This attitude may make me and people like me pay more in the long run once the regular retail store market is in ruin. For now, this works for me. I think I am saving money.

One clothes retailer for whom we were designing a huge store, was not stocking clothes for the 18-25 age range. When asked why he said, they are all just a lazy lot who order online and exchange on a daily basis. They don't come to a store and check out the clothes. I was surprised that this is case already.

[bhansali_hardik]

It’s never gone down! I have always been on a upward trend! With hyper delivery for the essentials like veggies and grocery my home expenditures have gone through the roof! I know that I order more than what is required in groceries end up stocking and forget to use it. All this for free delivery/offers. However, with WFH and the office culture right now I’ve ordered milk during my calls to make chai and the ended up ordering chai as well because I had to choose between finishing work with headache or somehow manage drinking tea while I work. The veggies I order online are not even half as fresh as we get it from the vendors, but it’s just impossible to step out bargain and get the veggies during a weekday. Believe it or not but the hyper markets near my home charge me a bomb. I do not sympathise with them and never bargain with the hawkers. But as of now I don’t think my spending pattern online is going down anytime soon.
But I wanted to pick a pair of AirPods Pro and made sure I Don’t buy it online just like my phone. I went to iplanet both the times, paid a lot more than online platforms. But I atleast had peace of mind that I’m not picking up fake Chinese stuff.

[CarJunki]

Online shopping (or eCommerce) does some interesting things.
A brick and mortar shop is limited by operating hours, possibly 18 hours a day at max. Online stores are 24hours a day. If someone operates for 30% more time than others, their sales will be greater than others.

Now there are other benefits, online shopping provides:
1. Customer does not become part of traffic jam
2. Time and fuel saved
3. Individual energy saved, a tired person/family is not desirable.

The flip side is traffic off-peak hours are reducing greatly. There is explosive growth in vehicular traffic coming from delivery operations.

The benefits of online far outweigh brick and mortar. The eCommerce will continue to grow, and any effort to stop will only result in more vigorous growth.

With fuel cost at all-time high, online shopping is a great way of outsourcing cost.

[livelyyoungman]

I am presenting my perspective on online shopping. It is not restricted to just eCommerce but also includes the BigBaskets, Zomatos and Swiggs. All, helped during the pandemic. Now-a-days, I do toss between going to an hotel or ordering and having at home. So my view it is a NO.

[GrammarNazi]

No. Largely.

My online purchases have been for products which the local trader didn't add any value to, except immediate in spot availability (which I agree is an important USP).

Since COVID lockdowns, we're even buying milk & vegetables online. It seems like the app marketplaces are in a race to figure out local distribution.

However, I have exited Swiggy and Zomato. It reduces chances of giving into impulsive cravings for food and also on unnecessary spending.

I'm surely going to preserve offline purchases where human interaction, trust & availability adds to the experience and value. Touch & feel matters very much for SO MANY things. And if nothing, going out matters.

P.S. : Had mistakenly clicked yes on the poll, but answer is NO.