That magical time of year that falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas, otherwise known as the holiday shopping season, is considered by many to be their least favorite part of the normally joyous season. In an age where computers already play an intrical part in the average person’s everyday activities, what’s to stop this season’s holiday shoppers from making all of their purchase via internet? By totally avoiding crowded malls and heinous shopping park plazas, customers maybe find themselves less stressed by being able to fulfill everyone’s holiday wishes with the click of a mouse. While it sounds appealing, as always, there are pros and cons to cutting out “real” retail shopping.
The positives of switching to internet shopping are obvious. Not having to deal with other crazed shoppers is probably the biggest turn-on for internet users. How much more fun would shopping be without the lines at the cash registers, the fight for parking spaces, or the cranky salespeople? Also, instead of making multiple trips to various locations in search of particular items, one could complete their shopping for everyone on their list within the span of a day or two. There are certain things a person may be looking to purchase that they may only be able to access via the internet, too. For example, if a person in the Midwest wants a designer purse, they will most likely have trouble finding it in their local stores. Online shopping allows them to access any store in the world and find exactly what they are looking for.
While the positives could essentially outweigh the negatives, there are still many issues with shopping online, especially for the holiday season. The biggest is the risk of identity theft. While many websites and credit cards claim to have protection against this ever-growing issue, how can one be positive that all of the information they enter on a site is secure? There’s also the issue of timeliness. By ordering a gift too late, one is almost guaranteeing themselves a hefty rush fee to get it there by the holiday. With a store, a person can go in, pick up the gift, pay for it, and leave with it. Many people find comfort in knowing that the items they’ve paid for are in their possession. After shopping online, one may feel at ease knowing they have picked out everything they needed, but one can not feel 100% secure until the gift has arrived in tact. Another issue is availability. Just like the mall, during this time of the year, websites run out of things too.
The New York Times reported on a Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey that recorded that consumers currently have a sunny outlook towards shopping this season, “followed by a slowing but still healthy economy in 2007.” Many stores are already impressed with their numbers as a result of “Black Friday,” also known as the day after Thanksgiving. A multitude of stores opened at midnight, while others like Toys R Us and Sears began the rush at 5 a.m., an hour earlier years past, according to ABC News. Many retailers were concerned about a slow start to the holiday season due to the economy, but most have reported success with the popular shopping weekend.
One store that didn’t reap the benefits of the over hyped shopping weekend was none other than Wal-Mart. While the numbers aren’t considered a failure by any means, their sales fell 0.1% at U.S. stores, which hasn’t happened since 1996. Although Wal-Mart began advertising their deals a week prior to “Black Friday,” Marshal Cohen, an industry analyst with NPD Group claims that other discount stores like Target “out-marketed Wal-Mart.” However, their online counterpart remained prosperous, coming in at number three for most trafficked site on “Black Friday.” The season’s most popular children’s toy, the T.M.X. Elmo went for $39.97 on the Wal-Mart site, compared to Shopping.com for $150.
Wal-Mart isn’t the only business suffering so far this season. Although EBay won the online prize for highest sales, “the overall Internet traffic growth was well below last year’s level,” says Computerworld.com, an IT management site. While there is no definite cause for the decline in online sales, Wayne Best, a senior economist at Visa claims that “Black Friday” sales were lower on the Internet because, “fairly good weather across the country drove shoppers to malls.”
Although the online alternatives to seasonal shopping seem appealing, it doesn’t appear that the internet revolution will totally sqaush retail all together. No matter how crazy it seems, millions of shoppers every year crowd the malls in search of the perfects gifts. It seems that online shopping is helpful for certain objects that people may desire, but many aren’t ready to completely surrender their holiday shopping to websites.