happiness and food

Ever since I started this blog, a lot of my workplace friends have been asking me to write about my biggest craze – Online Shopping!! Initially I thought maybe it’s a sort of an encouragement so that I keep on writing. However, very recently, I thought why not? I have so much to share and may be someone can really benefit out of this post!

I got introduced to Online Shopping in 2010. Primarily that was the first year of my entering the job force after MBA and I was certainly open to explore something new! It all started with buying bags, tops and kurtis online. Something that really attracts females is price. We belong to a category of customers who want a lot of variety in their wardrobes but don’t want to shell out a lot of money every other time. I was also enticed by stylish stuff and the fact that if I buy stuff online, I wear stuff that’s different and not run of the mill 🙂

I will talk per my exposure to this model in India and I believe that the first mover advantage should be given to fashionandyou.com followed by 99labels.com. Some interesting features of shopping at this site are – refer friends and get some bucks off for your next purchase, there is a different sale every day, most of the branded stuff offer a good discount and in case you do not like the stuff, they take it back without many questions. Also, returns are picked up from your place without any additional cost. The turn off was the delivery time and it is still as long as was 21 days. So far, so good – and then came yebhi.com, myntra.com, jabong.com, bestylish.com,flipkart.com, and so many more online shopping stores which had to offer similar stuff yet much faster.

Additional feature that relates to the experience is that of buying in a departmental store. There are sections – men, women, kids, home, kitchen, bath and what not! Go to a section, filter stuff based on your need and keep shopping. Like brick and mortar store – you can also browse through sizes, colors, styles etc. People I know who regularly shop online have their personal favorites and I somehow like the feeling of being loyal to one site. But I am also a smart shopper – I always compare online before I push stuff to my cart. 😉 Money matters you see!! 😀

I have heard from my cousins and friends abroad that online shopping is the new normal. But in India, only a section of the urban population has explored this option. With time, I also matured while shopping online. Today – I don’t buy many clothes online but I still browse bags, footwear and accessories. Also, now-a-days my groceries and cosmetics come online. Every weekend, I don’t spend time filling up my cart and waiting at the payment counter. I add stuff to my basket and I check out once done.

Online shopping certainly comes with a lot of ease, convenience and comfort. The turn offs – the actual look and feel may be very different from what you expect, delivery time taken vs. picking them up whenever you want etc. Also, whether you shop online or not – it is very important to stay safe from all kinds of online fraud. Careful transactions, knowing that the payment is secure and buying only from reputed portals are just a few yet important call outs before you click to shop! 🙂

P.S. A wise girl once said, “Online Shopping is an addiction, so watch out and never get carried away!” 😀