If you are living in the current digital age like me, then I’m sure you are no stranger to online shopping. In fact, if you want to hear a statistic that I am going to completely make up right now, it is said that 78% of people prefer shopping online compared to going to an actual brick and mortar store.
I know that 2020 created a huge demand for online shopping, and probably pushed the world of eCommerce into a whole new level that will be interesting to see going forward. If you’re not aware, there was a pandemic that swept across the world in early 2020, which caused many governments in more populated countries to shut down various services that were deemed as too dangerous to keep open to the public. The hope was that by shutting down some of these non-essential businesses, there would be less chance of the virus spreading between large groups of people who would have otherwise been gathered at these areas.
Well it turns out that, when everything else is closed, people will still turn to the internet for their groceries, clothes, home goods, and anything else you can think of. Literally, you can find just about anything online if you are willing to look long enough and pay enough money. You can even find illegal things on the internet, which is pretty scary in my opinion. Overall, I sense that there has been a great shift in our society because of the pandemic, and that more people than ever before are online shopping. Because of this, I wanted to write an article that would give some advice to those less-experienced internet shoppers, and hopefully can help you save money, avoid scams, and most importantly, have fun on the internet like the good old days!
My first tip that I have for you is to not click on links that you don’t feel safe about. Old people do this all the time, so if you are old and you are reading this, then I need you to really take this one to heart; for the love of everything that is holy, know that nobody wants to give you free money or will ask you for money over the internet. Listen guys, the internet can be a really scary place if you don’t take steps to create barriers between you and potential scammers/hackers. I’m going to make up another statistic right now and say that 80% of internet scams take place where a person over 60 years old is the victim. Do you want that to be you? No I bet not. That’s why I’m warning you to be careful. You wouldn’t accept a random shipping box at your door with no label on it would you? Because that’s how email works.
Speaking of shipping boxes, you also need to keep your bank information secure while online shopping. That’s why I recommend you use a 3rd party service like PayPal, because then you don’t have to worry about your debit cards and credit cards floating around in random places on the internet. PayPal is a lot more secure and is made specifically to help with internet purchases. You can just link your cards and bank information to PayPal, and then they will keep your information safe while you shop online.
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