Shopping for things such as clothes, toys, and even groceries, is now simple due to the use of apps and online websites. In-store shopping and online shopping both have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the amount of time you have, shipping and tax costs, and whether you’re willing to get off your couch or not.

Using online sites to order groceries is something that has been receiving a lot of attention from usual e-store shoppers who enjoy using sites like eBay and Amazon. Macroeconomics teacher at Lake Ridge, Brandon Austin, recently just tried ordering his groceries online. He believes that it is time consuming and a little complicated, but is still deciding which way works best for him.

“I was supposed to pick up my groceries from Walmart. I’ve never done this ‘Walmart Checklist,’ so it took me an hour and a half to find my stuff online, but I think now that I can reorder the same stuff I always buy it’ll be faster. I’ve been fighting the ‘online grocery movement’, but I’ve now been sucked in to it. So the simple answer is: I don’t know yet. We’re still in the middle of this transformation. This grocery thing is a big deal because if it takes you an hour to find the groceries online, I’d rather just go to the store and do it,” said Austin.

Austin says that online stores are gaining more attention because they seem to require less work to complete a buying task, while at the same time being quick and efficient.

“If you walk through a mall, you see that half the stores are empty in the average mall and that’s not a good thing for brick and mortar places. The guy who owns Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has become the richest guy in the world because people do like ordering stuff from home and it is easier to get stuff while sitting on your couch. I think somebody will rival Amazon and there will be way more online stores. So the jobs in the brick and mortar stores will end up being warehouse jobs. And in those warehouse jobs, you still have to ship it and package it, so the job force will definitely change. I think maybe a lot of them will turn into green spaces; you’ll end up with more parks and recreational areas,” said Austin.

When looking for shoes or clothes to purchase on the internet, sizes play an important factor because some clothing can run small or large. This can mean that you may have to order your pants a size larger than usual. However, Leigh Ann Smith, US History teacher, still prefers to participate in online shopping because of the simplicity.

“I prefer online shopping for everything except clothing because you can’t try on the clothes, I like to go to stores for that. Once I find a style or designer I like, I will then order it online once I know what size I wear,” said Smith

Smith says that the popularity for each way of shopping is based on whichever one is more convenient during a certain time period, which affects the marketing of some stores.

“Toys ‘R’ Us is planning bankruptcy because of online shopping. Even Walmart has had to lay-off and close down stores because people can shop online and have it delivered in one or two days. I think in-store shopping is instant gratification if I need something today, I think it’s the convenience of being able to have it right away. I think you might get introduced to things you normally wouldn’t look for at brick and mortar stores more than you will online,” said Smith.

Although the topic of convince is relevant many students still prefer to walk around in a store to purchase items instead of scrolling through a website. Sophomore, Avram Santiago, says that shopping in stores is more convenient because you are able to be hands on with the products.

“I prefer in-store shopping because you can actually see the products and its tangible and figure out whether or not you like them. I don’t think it online shopping is necessarily worse, but when shop in stores, you can actually try out products,” said Santiago.

Both options present unique opportunities to shop. Yet most of the time, the debate between online shopping and in-store shopping comes down to the personal preferences of the shopper.