Nowadays, there has been a substantial increase in the number of consumers who uses the Internet to directly buy goods and services. This trend, electronic commerce, would create certain benefits, but there will also be some drawbacks. In this essay, I will discuss both views of them.

On the one hand, it is clear that shopping online would bring about several advantages. An evident strength is that it would be extremely convenient. A majority of online shops, for example, give us the opportunities to buy 24/7 so you can surf the Internet to choose what you want then pay it in seconds. Besides, there are many kinds of accepted payments among which cash and a credit card are typical examples. Another reason is that online purchases would provide a variety of sources of goods and services. You also can find many brands and items that you are looking for such as clothing, foods, furniture, and equipment. Especially, if any pieces of stuff are limited or sold out, you can buy them in other parts of the city, state, country or even world instead of your region. Last but not least, the additional positive aspect is that you can easily save money as cheap deals and better prices are always available online. Moreover, it is not difficult to make a direct comparison between the whole deals and find the best one. Plus, when you were a member or collected the coupon and bonus point, you will be entitled to a generous discount.

On the other hand, there are some obvious disadvantages that would arise. Firstly, we should not turn a blind eye to the fact that online shopping is a negative environmental impact. For instance, for some items, packed with cardboard that can recycle is enough; however, most of the productions are wrapped up with several layers of plastic that are extremely depleted natural resources and contributed to global warming. Moreover, if items have to be redelivered or returned, then the carbon footprint goes up. Secondly, though saving time is the benefit of online purchase, the delivery of the goods to the customer’s doorstep frustrates them and prevents them from shopping online. The delivery time mainly depends on the geographical location between retailers and consumers, so it can spend 2-3 weeks to ship. Eventually, it could take longer if the weather is unfavorable. Thirdly, because of spending more time online, the buyer should be lacked contact with the community. If you are a workaholic, you might go outside and breathe fresh air instead of staying at home and looking at the computer.

In conclusion, shopping on the Internet will have both strengths and weaknesses in individuals and on the environment. In my opinion, the Internet is a wonderful invention, but you need to use it wisely not to have the disadvantages.