LOS ALAMITOS, CA – You add another item you don’t need into your shopping cart, hoping that it doesn’t hurt your wallet. You keep scrolling and scrolling through the new items for sale, even when you know you don’t need another shirt that has “15% off” attached to it.

Online shopping has been a game-changer for consumers since the mid 90’s, but how has it replaced shopping in person? 

Before online shopping became popular, it was easy to go to a mall and spend hours looking for the perfect pair of pants to match a shirt, or buy another pair of jeans knowing that it looks the exact same as a pair that you already own. What I personally love about shopping in-person is that you are able to try on clothes and feel products in your hands.

Especially when buying something like a new phone, it is important to be able to see the color you want and feel if the size and weight is to your liking. 

“I think [online shopping is] convenient because it gets delivered to your house, so you don’t have to go out and waste time. I also feel like since Covid, it’s been an efficient way to get your things delivered to you,” Los Al senior Mia Everett said.  

Going to shop in person was loved by millions around the world for much-needed retail therapy after a stressful week, but now millions prefer to log onto Amazon, search for what they need, add a few more items to their cart, and make sure they pay extra for express shipping. 

Why is it so much easier to click “place your order” instead of going to a store in person?

I think the biggest reason is because of the abundant amount of reviews online. When shopping in-person, it is hard to know whether or not it is worth it to buy a product because you are going in blind. Will it break in a week? Is it worth paying this much money? However, online you are able to find people who bought the same product and know their personal opinions on the functionality and if it is worth the money. 

Another reason is that there are usually better prices online than in stores. Most manufacturers have items with fewer colors or sizes in store compared to online, along with the fact that there are plenty of options for deals and savings online. 

In the case of the e-commerce company Etsy, many sellers put their products on sale often so their customers can get them for a good price. This is also the case with popular online stores like Temu, a recent cheap alternative that was founded in July 2022, Ebay, and Best Buy. 

TikTok Shop or TikTok Flop?

A recent addition to the online shopping world is TikTok Shop, an extension of TikTok that allows users to “buy, sell, and discover on TikTok,” according to the TikTok website. It enables brands and TikTok creators to showcase their products or products they are using in a live video through a shop icon in the bottom left corner or a pop-up bar close to the captions.

“I think that 99 cents for a sweatshirt is a scam. I think it’s nonsense, but I want to try it,” said Issy Steinberg, a staff writer for the Griffin Gazette. 

This concept was created as a way for content creators to earn “growth opportunities,” according to the TikTok website. Viewers can match with their favorite content creators, but it seems suspicious because it has only been available to the U.S. since Sept. 12, 2023. In my personal opinion, I think that despite the compellingly cheap prices, it is too risky to buy items for a low price using TikTok. 

What about shopping in person?

Shopping in person is still necessary for things like grocery shopping, if we choose to ignore the rising popularity of personal Instacart shoppers grabbing the last can of pasta sauce from the shelf. In the case of shopping malls, in-person shopping is also still popular. 2ND & PCH, a retail center in Long Beach, CA, for example, is a fun spot to eat good food, shop at stores, and roller skate.

“I think it’s super important to maintain that kind of style only because I think it’s good for you as a person to still go out,” Everett said.

Other stores that fall into the constant category of in-person stores are makeup stores like Ulta and Sephora, shoe stores, and thrift stores. Especially in the case of thrift stores, it seems improbable that they will become less popular because their appeal comes from hunting for cute, cheap clothes. 

“[Thrifting is] definitely a great way to find clothes that fit your style, and you don’t have to spend so much money,” said Los Al Thrift Club president Tyler Ho.

Overall, shopping in person is still around today because people enjoy seeing, experiencing, and testing out products in-person. The online world is not always trustworthy, so it makes sense that people are still shopping in person for clothes that fit their style in 2023. However, at the same time, I predict that online shopping will take over shopping in-person because of trends in getting fast delivery. 

The world is becoming more digital, and shopping online will become what everyone looks to because if they are too busy to buy that dress at the mall, or if they forgot to get that product they need from Target, it can be delivered to them in only two days.

“It’s like AI,” Everett said. “It’s going to be replaced. [The online world] is going to take over everything, and not [just] online shopping.”