The web has made it easier than ever to shop for whatever you want from wherever you want, whenever you want to buy it. Of course, this does have its advantages, but it also has its downfalls, especially depending on what you’re shopping for.
Shoe shopping can be an area that’s a bit tricky to navigate when it comes to online shopping. So before you jump on your favorite online shoe retailer, take a minute to read these pros and cons of purchasing your new kicks from the web.
Pro: Convenient
Obviously, the biggest benefit to shopping online is that it’s convenient! You can literally shop in your pajamas just by jumping onto your computer. Browse through hundreds of stores if you’d like all within just a few short minutes to find exactly what you’re looking for in your next pair of perfect shoes.
Con: Sizing
The only problem with browsing through thousands of pairs of shoes online and purchasing with a click of a button is that you don’t have a chance to try them on before you buy them. Unless you’re particularly familiar with a given brand, it can be difficult to pinpoint an exact size that will fit your foot. Widths, lengths and even heights can vary from what the online description says, and you never know which shoes will end up killing your feet and which will be really comfortable.
Make sure that if you buy shoes online, the site offers a return policy. You should at least be able to exchange a product that you find is not in the right size or isn’t quite the style you were looking for.
Pro: Price Comparison
With the Internet, it’s simple to compare prices on any given product. Say you find a pair of shoes that you love – all you have to do is perform a Google search on the brand name and the particular shoe you’re looking for, and hundreds of results will come up for stores that all sell the same product at different prices.
You can click around until you find a price that’s low enough for you, then order from that site.
Con: Hard to Find Reputable Sites
The issue with price comparison when shopping online is that you might find what you think is a brand-name product at an incredibly low price, but if it’s not on a reputable site, you may order the product, send your money and never receive your shipment. This happens far too often in online retail.
Many not-so-reputable websites can be spotted in a single glance – make sure the English and grammar are correct and check for any sort of secure payment logo (like PayPal) that verifies your payment is secure. In general, be on the lookout – if a price looks too good to be true, it probably is.
And be wary when sending online payments in general – it’s better to use a credit card than a debit card, make sure you’re saving receipts and never, ever hand out your bank account information on the web.
Pro: More Options
If you go online shopping for one shoe in particular, it’s very likely that you’ll end up finding about 10 alternate choices that could end up being better for you in the long run. Did you log on to search for a particular brand of running shoes, only to find a better one? It happens more than we know.
The truth is, the web opens up so many more options than shopping in a store. Chances are, you’re also more likely to find items that aren’t in stock in storefronts ready to ship from web retailers. It’s just how online shopping seems to work.
Con: Easy to Overspend
With more options available comes more temptation to buy, of course! With the slew of choices you have in shoes online, you may go into your online shopping experience with the intent of buying one, and only one, pair, and end up with 10 that you don’t actually need.
Shop online with a purpose, have a general idea of what you’re looking for and promise to limit yourself to buying just one or two pairs and you’ll be golden.
Attached Images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
Ashley Dean is a freelance writer who frequently shops for online footwear in her spare time. She’s experienced every pitfall and every piece of excitement associated with shoe shopping online and just wanted to share her knowledge and experiences!
