Solana Goodarzi and Liana Maciukenas enjoy going shopping at many stores throughout Portland and on 23rd Street, including at the thrift store Crossroads.
Which do you pick? The fragrant musty smell that meets you at the door of a thrift shop full of unique styles or the coziness of sitting on a bed, computer on your lap, adding each item to a virtual “shopping cart”?
Different joys are paired with online and in-person shopping. Some students say they enjoy seeing how an outfit looks when they try it on in a store while others prefer the excitement of ripping open a box of the perfect cart curated online. According to Business.com, online and in person shopping are enjoyable. Eighteen percent of consumers enjoy shopping online more than shopping in person.
Sophomore Solana Goodarzi finds that she enjoys shopping in person more than online.
“It’s a full on experience,” Goodarzi said. “If you go to the mall and you get to go to a bunch of different stores, and then you can go to the food court and you can eat, it feels like something that I enjoy doing.”
Many students agree. Sophomore Liana Maciukenas finds online shopping tiring.
“I think that it just feels more like a chore. When I shop online I feel like I have to get clothes and then start shopping. I get drained really easily,” said Maciukenas.
Students weigh not only the experience but also the cost.
“I shop overseas on online stores. And so I like looking at things,” Maciukenas added. “I would say I buy less online, though, because shipping prices are expensive.”
Students say online shopping can be really helpful to find inspiration. Using online shopping for ideas can help in curating the perfect list for in store shopping.
“Sometimes I go on the Hollister website, and then I look at an article of clothing, and I think, that’s really cute,” said Maciukenas. “And then I go to Hollister, the store, and I buy it.”
Maciukenas and Goodarzi both enjoy shopping in person better because of the full tactile experience.
“It’s a fun social thing. And it’s easier to be 100% sure about what you’re buying. I would say I do prefer shopping in person,” said Goodarzi.