4 Feb 2013
Recent statistics from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) show that around two thirds of adults have ordered goods such as music, food, clothing or holidays on line. This is twice the average of the OECD member states. The UK spent £68.2 billion on internet shopping last year, or an average of £2,180 per adult in the country. I only got a C Grade in my GCSE maths, but even I know that’s some pretty big numbers.
As a busy working mother I benefit from this phenomenon. I am not a fan of the supermarket (remember this?!), so having groceries delivered is a definite plus. I also like the fact that if I need a specific item, I don’t have to trawl dozens of shops to find it. I’m a fan of a make up brand not found on the high street, so ordering it from the comfort of my sofa is a big time saver.
However there are down sides to this style of shopping. For a start, there is a line between a fantastic amount of choice, and being bombarded with so much stuff you don’t know where to start. In my view we have crossed that line, by several miles.
I might search for “red lace bra” or “Spiderman gadgets” (just by way of example…… not for the same event….) and I am likely to get well over a thousand results for each. By the time I have searched through them, compared prices, chosen a product, registered on their site, navigated my way through data protection tick boxes and gone through security levels for using my debit card on line, I might as well have gone to the shops. I am so overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff that is available that I don’t know where to start. I often stare at the screen for a moment, like a rabbit stuck in headlights, and then give up.
My other issue is quality. I want an online shop that knows when I search “red lace bra” what a want is a good quality, well made, pretty piece of underwear. What I do not want are 371 different places to buy a strip of cheap shiny material with a nipple tassle on the end. Not even when it’s red.
Call me demanding, but what I really want is a shop that is full of things I will like, recommended by people whose opinion I respect and whose choices are ones I would make.
