It is no surprise that the pandemic interrupted habits in many ways, even shopping. From groceries to clothing, buying online is the new way. 

¨I personally prefer online shopping rather than in-store because there are more benefits to it and I have never really had any problems with shopping online,¨ junior Adamari Flores said. ¨I take into consideration that we are in a pandemic right now, and it is more practical for people to shop online rather than go out in public and shop in stores.¨

People everywhere have been staying at home doing most of their shopping online and this trend is not going anywhere. 

¨Shopping online seems so much easier because you can purchase items at any time of the day,¨ senior Gabbie Rucobo said. ¨And when shopping in-store you can not do that.¨

There are pros and cons to shopping online.

¨One does not have to wait in long lines to pay and especially now with COVID it is safer to read reviews on products you are interested in but at stores, one can not,¨ Rucobo said. ¨Some cons to online shopping would be that most of the time one has to pay for shipping and in stores one never does. Another con is one can not physically inspect the item and get the right one.¨

There are pros and cons to shopping in-store too. 

¨In stores customers do not have to wait days or weeks for their product to come and it is a little easier to talk to an employee about information about a product,¨ senior Eduardo Flores said. ¨It is more difficult to find the product that you want in the exact size and it may take a long time for the store to get the product again.¨

If one is looking for a specific item that the store does not have or it is hard to find, an online search could help.

¨The difference about online shopping that in-store does not have is a diverse product option. A physical store can only offer limited types of products under a specific genre,¨ Adamari Flores said. ¨However, online stores can connect with several hundred products on the same platform. You can order items from international places. While shopping online, you can sort and filter the product inventory as you desire.¨

There can be letdowns. 

¨I have actually had one bad experience when purchasing a skirt online from Tillys. I was 100 percent sure that this specific skirt was going to fit me but when I received it the skirt was not what I expected,¨ Rucobo said. ¨They shipped me the wrong size and wrong skirt and once I called they said they could not do anything about it because the skirt I originally wanted was out of stock. I typically shop online every week but only at the stores I completely trust.¨ 

When one is purchasing an item from a physical store, it takes a while to look for product ratings but when online, one can easily see the highly recommended ones. 

 ¨Not being able to see the items in person makes it difficult to purchase an item,¨ Adamari Flores said. ¨But reading the reviews and looking at images helps with the decision.¨

There are thoughts on whether in store shopping is better. 

¨I do not think online shopping is better than in-store shopping but it all depends on the situation,¨ Rucobo said. ¨Right now with everything that is happening online shopping is way safer and the way to go.¨

On the other hand, online shopping is the new normal. 

¨I will definitely continue to shop online after the pandemic because it is more practical for people to shop online rather than go in-store shopping,¨ Adamari Flores said. ¨I just feel that it is a lot easier to get the stuff one needs, one has time to think about purchasing an item before buying it and can save money by using codes.¨