There’s almost nothing that I hate as much as a shopping mall. I’m not saying that I hate to shop, that would be blasphemy; I LOVE shopping. I hate the crowds, the long lines at the checkout and that kid who is CONSTANTLY screaming somewhere in the distance. But thankfully for my fraying nerves, I no longer have to spend my hard earned Christmas vacation time battling the ever swelling masses who, just like me, left their gift shopping till the last minute again. I can get up when feel like it, make some tea and slouch down in front of my computer, irritation free, and shop online to my shopaholic little heart’s content.

To thank for this, I have Tim Berners-Lee, who created the very first server and browser in 1990. In 1994, those German geniuses Intershop came up with the very first online shopping system, followed by Amazon in ’95 and then eBay in ’96. What with the world being filled with lazy but avid shoppers not unlike myself, online shopping sites popped up like mushrooms and the range of products available grew fast.

Naturally, online shopping should be as easy as it claims to be; nobody likes to sit down, ready to engage in a shoe frenzy only to find that they can’t buy shoes in their own language. The best websites are the most user friendly ones, with clear instructions and links, language options, payment options and extensive product catalogues. The site has to cater to the shoppers needs in order to be successful…and if the shopper in question happens to be me, that’s a lot of needs. If I visit a new site and it hasn’t got the products I want, a helpful customer service team and the best payment options possible, why would I go back? The internet is huge, so there is a never ending stream of new places for you to shop.

So what do you as a customer need to engage in a little online mall madness? That’s easy:
1) 1x manic shopper, check.
2) 1x computer with internet connection.
3) 1x credit card or internet banking account.
4) 1x case of energy drinks because you, yes you, are going to be up for days when you get started.

Certain online shopping sites don’t take international credit cards, others require your purchasing and billing address to be in the same country as the one in which the site is based, while still other sites allow you to buy from and send to absolutely anywhere(those are my favourite). In some case, the financial transactions are processed in real time: if you already spent all your money on Amazon, eBay might let you know BEFORE you log off that your card was declined. Other sites do this later as a fill in process; obviously the first option is preferable.

Shoppers are like magpies: we aren’t just attracted to malls because of the convenience of having a million different stores selling a million different things that we’ll convince ourselves we need all in one place, oh no. We are attracted to bright, colorful and especially shiny things; that’s why the design and aesthetic appeal of an online shopping page is so important. Online shopping pages should not only have a wide range of products, displayed on the page in a convenient manner, but it should basically also look pretty. Another advantage of shopping is, although the shipping costs are added, the stores have no ridiculously high rent to pay, or electricity and water bills, so the costs of products are generally lower. Online shopping sites also regularly offer freebies or free shipping with orders of or over a certain size, making buying in bulk still MORE convenient.