What are some good and bad things about online shopping?

I have been shopping online for a while now, and am quite fascinated by how online retailers work on my psyche to get me to buy more, more and more.

Let’s take Amazon India which seems determined to make its dream of offering everything from A-Z a reality. It’s where I started shopping online, mainly for electronics. You enjoy the luxury of checking and comparing product details, seeing what actual buyers have to say about it, and avoiding the headache of driving to the store to buy it. But my regular shopping for groceries, cleaning and other household stuff is still being done offline.

Last October, I took an Amazon Prime Membership as it was being offered at a bargain price of ₹500 ($8) for a year. At least, I thought it was a bargain. But it came with psychological mind games that I hadn’t bargained for. Come to think of it, online shopping is like a game with many different levels to it. Let’s first start with the pros and cons of online shopping at a generic level.

Level 1: ‘Free Home Delivery at what cost’

The Good: In Indian cities, where traffic and parking are major issues, shopping online with home delivery is a Godsend. Checking reviews online, comparing prices and product features, shopping at a convenient times, easy refunds, and the absence of physical labour to transport your shopping home are all tangible benefits of the service.
The Bad: You can’t really tell what a product feels like from its online pictures. I recently bought a phone case that looked rubbery but turned out to be plasticky. I don’t like plasticky. I guess I could have returned the case but it didn’t seem right as the seller wasn’t really at fault. The other issue with online shopping is someone has to be at home to receive the order.

Level 2: ‘Join an Exclusive Club’

The Good: Coming back to Amazon Prime, its main draw is the free and quick shipping on products sold with the Prime tag on Amazon. (You also get early access to deals on the site which is no big deal, and free access to Amazon Prime Video, useful only if you are on a high speed, high data internet plan).

The Bad: Once I subscribed to Prime, a subtle pressure built up to make full use of the free delivery. So I started buying stuff that I didn’t actually need. Like a USB cable reinforced by nylon braiding to make it unbreakable. It’s basically shopping for the sake of shopping, or consumerism at its worst.

The Ugly: Amazon Prime is not offered on cheaper USB cables so I ended up ‘persuading’ myself to buy an expensive one just for the ‘free’ delivery.

Level 3: ‘Why shop local’

Amazon was only getting started. They know people are still buying their monthly supplies of household provisions offline.
The Good: So they launched a Super Value Day at the beginning of every month offering substantial cashbacks. Customers stood to get good discounts just for doing their regular monthly shopping at Amazon.

The Bad: The catch was you had to buy over ₹1000 to get the cashback, whifdch means you spend more than you intended to, just to reach the target. Since my credit card is from ICICI bank, I get an additional ₹150 off.

The Ugly: This was quite subtle. Once they had me hooked, they inreased the minimum I have to buy for the cashback from ₹1000 to ₹1500. And reduced the additional discount for ICICI bank customers to ₹100.

Level 4: ‘Repeating orders? We got your back’

The Good: There are some household products that we buy periodically, like say soap. To lock me in to buy recurring purchases through Amazon, the company offered added discount for subscribing to periodic purchases.

The Bad: I’d rather buy stuff when I actually need it, so I ignored the offer.The Ugly: Some of this may actually cost substantially less at the local store but you have to compare prices item by item to figure out which are the ones that are being overpriced. Most of us assume everything is cheaper at the online store, and end up being taken for a ride.

Level 5: ‘Loyal customers get special treatment’

Customers are fickle and can switch their purchase to another online retailer if the offer is good. The best way to prevent this is to buy their loyalty.
The Good: Enter Amazon Pay balance which is like an online wallet for use on Amazon. It offers the convenience of one-click buying, refunds in 24 hours, and of course, discounts on purchases through it. A smart customer can get substantial savings by using this. I just saw the Moto G5 phone being sold at ₹1000 discount on Amazon for payments via Amazon Pay Balance.

The Bad: You have to be a Prime Member to get the full discount.

The Ugly: Though it’s theoretically an online wallet, you can’t use this wallet anywhere except on Amazon.

Level 6: ‘Exchange the old one for a new one’

We don’t buy stuff if we already have it, right? Wrong, you can be persuaded to exchange your old products for upgraded newer models.
The Good: Recycling is good for the environment, and I did exchange my old Nexus mobile for a new Xiaomi on Flipkart some time ago.

The Bad: Exchange isn’t happening in my location as yet for Amazon. Also exchange prices are abysmally low. You should be able to sell your stuff for much more on dedicated secondhand sale sites like Quikr.

The Ugly: This tactic encourages people to consume more by getting rid of old stuff before its life is over, thus adding to environmental pollution.

Level 7: ‘Groceries delivered at your doorstep the next morning’

The Good: Ordering groceries without leaving the comfort of our homes. Plus you get a wider selection of goods, lower prices and next day door delivery. It’s an unbeatable proposition for busy city folk living with gridlocked traffic.
The Bad: The service is only available in around 30 cities in India.

The Ugly: Perishable goods like groceries is the last bastion of traditional shops. If they lose this business, they may go out of business, and that will mean the end of the personal experience that defines traditional shopping. Besides once these shops close down, online retailers will have no competition, and will be able to raise prices as they please.

Conclusion

There are too many hidden costs to online shopping that make it hard to tell if its positives outweigh its negatives. It’s not just major consequences like environmental pollution but even minor stuff like returns and replacements. Amazon usually has them picked up from your home. But once the seller asked me to pack and courier it back to them myself, which was quite a headache. It had to be packed properly, needed printouts for return authorisation, a letter for VAT exemption, a label with a special bar code to be stuck on the package, and a hot sweaty trip to the courier office.

I think it’s better to be safe rather than sorry, and try to find a good balance in online and offline shopping so as to reduce my expenses without causing environmental havoc. That’s why I have decided that from now on I will avoid ordering regular home supplies from Amazon until I’m convinced that it’s less environmentally polluting than buying directly from the local store.