Online shopping is one of the trendiest ways to shop nowadays. Many people prefer to shop online rather than go to a store. In 2018, it is estimated that $1.5 quadrillion  were spent on retail websites.

There are many reasons why people would rather shop online. Gabriel Lichty’s ’23 mother, Cara Lichty, explained why she prefers shopping online. “It’s convenient,” Lichty said. “I like items delivered to my door. It’s also cheaper, but mostly it’s the convenience.” The most common reason stated for online purchases among shoppers is the convenience and the lower prices.

In 2018, Amazon was the leading e-retailer in the United States, accounting for 49 percent of US sales. Their net sales were close to 232 billion U.S. dollars. When looking at the most common items purchased online in 2017, clothing is the number one selling e-commerce category overall, with $20.3 billion in sales. In terms of growth, from 2017 to 2018, sales of jewelry and watches grew by 39 percent. This was far ahead of the next fastest growing category, which was furniture. Sales grew in that category by 26 percent. Video games, including consoles and accessories, also saw a significant increase of 24 percent.

Despite the convenience and cheaper prices, there are some downsides to online shopping. “Sometimes with Old Navy, the sizes are weird,” English teacher Kristi Miller said. “Especially with kids clothes, as they tend to run small so there’s times where I’ll buy stuff from Old Navy and then have to return it because it doesn’t fit. Also, when I buy stuff at Target it comes in a billion boxes and it’s overly packaged and I know that it’s terrible for the environment. They need to be more eco-friendly with their packaging,”

Online shopping has made a significant difference in the retail industry and it is becoming more popular every day. It has made it more convenient for some people who do not have the time or money to go to actual stores. Online shopping is getting so popular because everything is found in a single location for a cheaper price.