In the past, people used to shop more frequently at physical retail stores. In recent years, however, online shopping has become a new and popular trend. Despite the fact that local shops and employees might be affected by this tendency, I believe that the replacement of physical stores with online retail platforms is advantageous because it provides people with a wider range of choices, it can save time and costs for consumers, as well as it creates opportunities for small businesses to expand their market.
Those who focus on the drawbacks of online shopping tend to worry about a significant decrease in customers that retail online platforms can bring to local small businesses. For example, according to a recent survey, the number of stores that were forced into bankruptcy and were closed in the last decade in the US has reached 20%, and more than 10000 employees were forced to look for another job due to the recession. Furthermore, because online shopping is easier people tend to buy too much, which would lead to a large waste of money. Hence, in the interest of protecting small businesses and the earnings of people, many understandably insist that online shopping is a negative trend.
However, I would argue that there are more advantages to local businesses and citizens of shopping online. Firstly, the development of online shopping makes distance no longer a problem: companies do not have to rely on local customers; instead, they are able to spread their products, which are their unique characteristics, to every place in the world. We are still able to see many successful cases of local businesses, which turn themselves online and target customers online. In addition, customers benefit from extreme convenience, which enables them to buy what they need regardless of time and distance. For example, people who work overtime do not have to worry the store would be closed before they could arrive. Thus, shopping online has become a highly acceptable trend because it can save time and make it easier to purchase something, as well as allows to promote products worldwide.
In conclusion, while it is indisputable that online shopping might compromise the local physical stores and force people to spend more money on purchases, I would argue that because of the benefits of saving time and earnings of consumers and expanding opportunities for small businesses, and since there are ways to prevent the bankruptcy of local stores, the advantages of online shopping outweigh the disadvantages.