Everyone nowadays seems to be hooked to online shopping. While we totally understand how you’d like to shop from the comfort of your home, the perks of traditional shopping cannot be overlooked. E-commerce has completely changed the face of retail. Overwhelming price markdowns, special birthday discounts, convenience and unlimited choices at the fingertips make it a highly attractive proposition. But, if you like to touch and feel the product before buying, there’s nothing better than in-store shopping.
Shopping from brick and mortar stores has its benefits. Some also provide attractive in-store offers that you cannot overlook. As a result, shopping offline is still fun and we are not just saying it. Take a look at the top 10 reasons to shop offline and you’ll soon realize why we recommend it.
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The Feel Good Factor
Shopping was always an experience. The joy of searching for favorites and moving from one shop to the other is unmatched. It is also one of those moments when you can spend some time with your loved ones. Going shopping is not just exclusively about getting things. It is much more – a little visit to the favorite café or restaurant, some chit chats, playing with the kids and sharing funny incidents that remain etched in our memory for years.
This experience is particularly heightened during festive shopping. While in-store shopping abound around this time of the year, you also get a chance to pick and choose favorites with family or friends. Since it is also a time for gifting, people continue to search for the best products until they are satisfied. While this can be time-consuming and often takes a toll on the body, the joy of shopping always wins over the tiredness.
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Experiencing the Product In-Store
When you visit a shop, the products can be touched and felt. You can instantly get an idea about the texture of a fabric, its quality and finesse. A lot of people, for instance, might look for fashionable clothes online. But, they buy it from physical stores because it allows them to check out the dress before paying for it. Similarly, for products such as fragrances, lotions and cosmetics, you can never be sure until you’ve felt it with all your senses. Its smell, texture, color and feel play a crucial role to influence our choice.
The images on a computer or a phone screen can hardly paint the real picture. It is always an assumption and your expectations may or may not be met. Besides, if you want to check out the picture or sound quality of an electronic device, for example, an online store can only provide a recorded representation and not the actual picture or audio quality.
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Free Alteration Service
One of the major benefits of shopping offline is the free alteration service available in most shops. Instead of worrying about how the dress fits, you can immediately ask for an alteration. Most shop owners will oblige and offer their services free of cost. Sometimes, you can also order tailor-made products based on your preferences.
Many people like to wear customized clothes. It is only possible when it is made to fit your body. This requires personal attention and care. A tailor will be the best person to fulfil this need and no matter how popular online stores become, you can never find a service that matches this level of personalization.
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Instant Gratification of Needs
At an offline shop, you can pick and choose products instantly. It also provides the benefit of fulfilling your needs immediately. As you can bring home a product on the same day, you feel happy about it and it instantly gratifies your needs. If you prefer online shopping, you have to wait at least a day or two to get the product. The delivery times, however, may be extended depending on various factors.
Moreover, shopaholics experience a kind of pleasure in carrying loads of shopping bags. This is an experience in itself and if you are one who feels proud to flaunt bags in multiple shapes, sizes and colors, there is nothing better than the brick and mortar shops.
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Encourages Physical Exercise
We are all guilty of a sedentary lifestyle. If shopping is your excuse for indulging in some physical exercise, so be it. Take some time out to go around shopping malls and old markets. They are a pleasure in itself. You’ll often find a lot of local stuff that is unavailable anywhere else. A few rounds of the market and you’ll soon realize how you’ve just completed a fair workout.
It is an enjoyable yet effortless way of keeping your body and mind fit. Even if you are not in the mood to buy something, window shopping will let you move from one shop to the other. Use it as an excuse to burn some calories.
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Better Deals with In-Store Shopping
Since brick and mortar stores do not have to wait for a few days in a year to announce a sale, they can offer great deals throughout the year. Besides, in the absence of delivery and e-commerce platform charges, costs are often reasonable. If you visit any local market, you can check out multiple stores selling similar things within a small radius. This compels sellers to adopt a competitive price structure.
As a result, customers always get better deals. For regular customers, shop owners also provide excellent deals with loyalty programs and birthday discounts.
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Personal Recommendations
When you visit a store, the staff will be ready to guide you. From finding the things that you are looking for to getting the right fit, you can rely on the sales representative who’s happy to assist you. They are also trained to offer personal recommendations. Therefore, they can often help to find things that you would otherwise overlook. The human touch is much loved and appreciated by a lot of shoppers. It leads to a very comfortable shopping experience.
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Returns Made Easy
If you do not like an item purchased from a store, you can simply visit and return the product within a few days. Most shops accept returns without any issues. You are also given the opportunity to immediately choose something in place of the item that you have returned. Whether it’s the wrong size or a color that you do not like, a replacement is just a visit away.
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Safe Transactions with In-store Shopping
The growing number of frauds on online transactions have made many people apprehensive. While banks and credit card issuers are constantly trying to upgrade their systems, online retailers have a mammoth task of protecting the privacy and security of customer data. Keeping all these problems at bay, you can enjoy complete peace of mind when you purchase things from a traditional outlet. Payments are either accepted in cash or card, depending on your preference. Your privacy remains intact at all times.
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Extra Perks
A shopping trip is never only about buying certain things and heading back home. It is often a chore we pick for our off-days, as a productive way of spending the day. So, for kids as well as adults, it’s a time for recreation. The festive season is particularly a time when we see thousands milling around their favorite shops. In most cases, discounts are not an attraction during this time of the year. Rather, the ability to personally pick and choose things for near and dear ones pulls crowds towards retail outlets.
A shopping day is often wrapped up with a visit to a favorite restaurant, a few ice-creams and special treats that are often denied on other days. Therefore, it is always a good idea to look forward to shopping trips to enjoy these extra perks.
Is In-Store Shopping Necessary?
While we discussed the advantages of offline shopping, many would be wondering whether it is necessary. In today’s day and age when the virtual world is slowly trespassing every aspect of our daily lives, it is a good thing to look up from your mobile screens and laptops. The sensory and emotional experience associated with shopping is worth exploring.
Instead of becoming couch potatoes and always relying on our electronic devices to complete our chores, we can go outside, talk to friends and do some shopping as well. Experts believe it can have a therapeutic effect and can improve mood instantly. Moreover, the gratification of getting things that you need at once helps to elevate the sensory experiences.
The sensory dimension of offline shopping cannot be ignored. The effects of touching certain products, visualizing a brand in front of your eyes, the elegant décor of a boutique can all act as extraordinary sensory stimuli. It helps to generate positive feelings and heightens certain emotions that cannot be experienced with any other substitute.
Therefore, in-store shopping is a great way to indulge your senses and elevate experiences. Try it more often and you’ll soon relive the nostalgia of a time gone by – when we used to step out for all our needs.