Online shopping is trending these days. Since last year when the corona pandemic struck, the use of online shopping websites for shopping has increased to three fold. Online shopping is way more convenient than unusual traditional shopping. Online shopping provides various benefits to consumers apart from the convenience of shopping. The best part of online shopping is that you can compare prices by navigating between different websites at the same time. Apart from those, online websites offer discounts, free delivery, coupons etc., which is not possible in traditional shopping. There are also gifting websites from which you can order birthday flowers online. You can shop anytime and anywhere via your smartphone or laptop.
But apart from the benefits that online shopping provides, it has certain cons too. Sometimes the consumer receives the wrong product in terms of size, colour and design. There are delays in delivering the items. And above all, there are online frauds as well. So you need to be aware and smart enough if you want to shop online.
The most important part of online shopping is picking the online store that is best. As a consumer, I know it is not possible to have knowledge about everything. But here are some points mentioned which will help you choose the right online store.
Payment method-
Payment method is extremely important when you shop online. Most shopping websites have multiple payment options like debit card, credit card, phone pay, UPI ID, and cash on delivery etc. But certain sites don’t have a cash on delivery option, and you have to make payment before even getting the product. It is advisable to choose those websites that have cash on delivery option so that you can get assurance, and you have hands on that product before you pay for it.
Reviews-
Before making the purchase, it is very important to read the reviews about the online store. Many customers write about their experience they had when they did the shopping from that particular site. You should go through those reviews and find out whether the site is authentic and has good service or not. Then you can decide whether you want to shop or not.
Read terms and policies-
Before placing the order from any shopping website, it is advisable to read their terms and conditions. Every website has their own terms and conditions, and it varies. You should go through their order cancellation policy, return policy, about discounted products etc. So that you don’t feel helpless if you want to return a certain product.
Check the authenticity-
Due to the corona pandemic many retailers have shifted to the e-commerce business, and thus there is a huge surge in online shopping websites. This is very overwhelming and confusing for consumers. You may find websites with the same name, and it might confuse you about the credibility of the website. So it’s better to do proper research about the authenticity of the websites and then choose it for shopping. Apart from global websites, there are some local stores that have now started to sell their products online. So you need to be very careful while picking up the right shopping websites. There are gifting websites also available from where you can pick gifts for your loved ones for different occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and festivals. They have a variety of options, but you need to be careful about these gifting items because they might fool you with sending a low quality item. So check about these gifting websites very well before placing an order. You can buy online birthday gifts from these websites.
Delivery system-
The best part of online shopping is that you get the product you ordered delivered at your home. Every website has its own delivery system. Some have their own and some use general delivery services that are available to all. So make sure you check the delivery system so that you don’t have to juggle. Also, check with the delivery charges because all websites don’t provide free deliveries and if they do, they limit it to a certain amount of order. So check the final payment amount to ensure that any delivery charges are added or not.
Shopping online is convenient in many ways, but it might put you in trouble if you are not smart and aware of it. I hope these above-mentioned points will help you pick the right store for you and be a smart shopper.
