Online stores have made shopping easier now than ever before.  With the click of a few buttons, a desired item can be delivered to a doorstep within a few short days.  This speedy and effortless process takes place all without a customer even having to step outside of the comfort of their own home.

“Amazon is a super easy and efficient online website that I use all the time.  You can order practically anything from them and packages are delivered to your house so quickly,” senior Jenna Rakos said.

The convenience that online shopping has to offer has made this new, high-tech method of shopping preferred by many shoppers.  According to the Wall Street Journal, for the first time ever consumers say they are now buying more of their purchases on the web than in retail stores.  Additionally beside convenience, online shopping can provide customers with more variety, better prices, crowd avoidance and the ability to compare prices more readily.

“Online I like having lots of selection and being able to see everything all at once.  I also like how you can specify what you want want, even down to color,” junior Madeline Loder said.

Yet, retail stores provide customers with alternate unique experiences that online stores cannot.  For example: customer rapport, prevention from delivery hassle, and the ability to immediately test out, or try on a product.

Retail stores aim to provide customers with an atmosphere that puts them at ease when shopping.  Stores are filled with a plethora of tangible items on elaborate displays.  Background music also plays throughout stores, with the hopes to resonate with the shopper to further their experience.

“I enjoy shopping in retail stores.  I believe that compared to online stores they provide a better environment to shop in,” senior Samantha Maddock said.

An edge in customer satisfaction can also be traced back to human interactions.  Often times if a customer has a question, an employee in a retail store can help directly instead of through an alternate source of media.  Although online shopping websites are convenient, they are unable to provide customers with face to face contact.  Rather online stores rely on forms of media for communication such as chat, email, or telephone.

“If I were to have a question about a product, I would much rather speak to an employee directly than on the phone,” senior Morgan Marxer said.

In today’s society, companies are constantly searching for the fastest and most efficient way to get products in consumers hands.  As a result, online websites are becoming more popular.  After all, is is more convenient to close an internet browser, than to hop back into a car and drive way.  Yet, there in no guilt in wasting gas or time if the overall experience is that much better.