the benefit of online shopping essay

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Essay on Online Shopping in 100, 200, and 300 Words.

Updated on
Dec 23, 2023

Shopping is something that many people love. It is particularly cherished during festive occasions such as Diwali, Navratri, Christmas or New Year etc. The shopping world has changed and evolved majorly providing us with various options of the same. The convenience of online shopping platforms has now come into play. Those days when individuals have to take on a long journey of shopping are now past us, all thanks to the various online shopping platforms that are now at the tip of our fingers. This is just a brief introduction to how to write an essay on online shopping. Now let’s have a look at the samples of essay on online shopping.

Table of Contents

1 Essay on Online Shopping in 100 words
2 Essay on Online Shopping in 200 words
3 Essay on Online Shopping in 300 words
4 Advantages

Essay on Online Shopping in 100 words

The way of shopping has been revolutionized by online shopping. It has made it possible and convenient to shop virtually from literally anywhere.

The sheer convenience of shopping is one of the biggest advantages of online shopping. For those individuals who are busy and struggle to find time to visit stores, online shopping is a boon.

Payments are easy this way with the variety of options available such as debit card, cash on delivery, etc. However, there are some drawbacks to online shopping as well. One of them is the delivery of the wrong item or a different item than that seen online. So one should be cautious and should make informed decisions.

Essay on Online Shopping in 200 words

In today’s world, as science and technology are progressing, a lot of things have become more convenient for us. One such thing is online shopping. Over the years due to its high demand and convenience, it has become very popular. It involves virtually placing an order on any e-commerce website without the need to go to a physical store. Various items such as shoes, gadgets, household products, and even groceries can be ordered from the comfort of your couch.

Some of the key benefits of online shopping are mentioned below:-

Crowd Avoided:- since online shopping is virtual, going to crowded places is avoided.
Convenience:- we can shop from the convenience of our homes.
Variety in products:- on different platforms, a vast range of products is available.
Variety in payment options:- Debit card, cash on delivery, etc payment options make it all the more convenient.

Although there are many pros of online shopping, there are some drawbacks as well. There have been many instances where wrong or damaged goods got delivered. There can be instances where a product may not match its depiction when delivered in terms of color, etc.

Some websites even scam people and are fraudulent. Hence, it is important to take caution while shopping online.

Essay on Online Shopping in 300 words

During the 1990s, the concept of online shopping came into play and since then, it has grown exponentially. Its principle lies in the ease of browning a wide variety of products on various e-commerce platforms. The e-commerce platforms have played a central role in enabling different businesses to connect with a global audience.

There are various advantages of online shopping, one of them being the ease of online shopping. With virtual stores, you can shop whenever you want and from wherever you want. The limitations of time don’t apply to the online stores. They are accessible 24/7.

Wide Range of Products

When you shop online, you don’t have to limit yourself to only some products. Online shopping opens a portal to a wide range of products to select from.

Saves time and money

When you shop online, you don’t have to go to stores. You can shop from the comfort of your couch. That saves time. And generally, online stores have some kind of offers and discounts going on which saves you money.

Although online shopping has many advantages, there are also certain cons that it carries with it. Some of those cons are mentioned below:-

Shipping issues

There can issues with the shipping such as the product may get damaged during its shipping or it may get delivered to the wrong address.

Return Policies

If the product is different and the customer wants to return it or get a refund, there can be certain policies that prevent the same.

Different item Delivery

There can be instances where the product, when delivered, is different from the one shown in the images online. Returning the same can be a hassle too as it has to be repacked for some resellers.

Hence, when shopping online one should always be cautious and take calculated decisions.

Deepansh Gautam

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Essay on Online Shopping 1000+ Words

Online shopping has transformed the way we buy goods and services. With the advent of the internet, the world of commerce has shifted to digital platforms, making shopping easier, more convenient, and accessible to millions. In this essay, we will explore the many advantages of online shopping, from its convenience and affordability to its impact on traditional retail stores and its role in our modern lives.

Convenience at Your Fingertips

Online shopping offers unparalleled convenience. Shoppers can browse and buy products from the comfort of their homes, avoiding long queues and crowded stores. This convenience is especially valuable for people with busy schedules or limited mobility.

A Vast Selection of Products

Online stores provide a vast array of products that cater to diverse tastes and needs. Whether you’re searching for clothing, electronics, books, or specialty items, the internet offers an extensive selection with just a few clicks.

Competitive Prices and Discounts

Online retailers often offer competitive prices and frequent discounts. The ability to compare prices from different sellers allows shoppers to find the best deals, saving them money. Additionally, online coupons and promotions further enhance the affordability of online shopping.

Access to Customer Reviews

Before making a purchase, online shoppers can read customer reviews and ratings. This valuable information helps buyers make informed decisions, ensuring they select high-quality products that meet their expectations.

Convenient Payment Options

Online shopping platforms offer a variety of payment options, including credit cards, digital wallets, and online banking. This flexibility makes transactions convenient and secure for shoppers.

Doorstep Delivery

One of the most significant advantages of online shopping is doorstep delivery. Shoppers no longer need to travel to physical stores; instead, their purchases are delivered to their homes, saving time and effort.

Avoiding Impulse Buying

Online shopping can help shoppers avoid impulse buying. In physical stores, tempting displays and in-store promotions can lead to unplanned purchases. Online, buyers have more control over their choices and can stick to their budgets.

Accessibility for All

Online shopping breaks down geographical barriers. People in remote areas or those with limited access to physical stores can now access a wide range of products and services, leveling the playing field for all consumers.

Impact on Traditional Retail

The rise of online shopping has led to changes in the traditional retail landscape. Many brick-and-mortar stores have expanded their online presence to remain competitive. Additionally, some traditional retailers now offer online shopping options to meet the changing preferences of consumers.

Environmental Benefits

Online shopping can have environmental benefits. With fewer people driving to physical stores, there may be a reduction in carbon emissions. Additionally, some online retailers are committed to eco-friendly packaging and sustainable practices.

Conclusion of Essay on Online Shopping

In conclusion, online shopping has revolutionized the way we shop and has become an integral part of our modern lives. Its convenience, affordability, vast selection, and accessibility have made it a preferred choice for millions of consumers worldwide. As technology continues to advance, online shopping will likely become even more accessible and efficient.

While online shopping offers numerous advantages, it’s essential to exercise caution and practice responsible consumerism. Shoppers should be mindful of their budgets, protect their personal information, and support reputable online retailers.

Online shopping is not just a trend; it’s a reflection of our evolving society and the way we adapt to new technologies. As we embrace the convenience and benefits it offers, let us also be conscious consumers who make informed choices, ensuring that online shopping continues to enhance our lives while respecting the principles of responsible shopping and sustainability.

Also Check: The Essay on Essay: All you need to know

Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Students are often asked to write an essay on Benefits of Online Shopping in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Introduction.

Online shopping is a popular trend in today’s digital era. It offers a new, convenient way to shop from the comfort of your home.

Convenience

The biggest benefit of online shopping is its convenience. You can shop anytime, anywhere, without having to leave your home.

Wide Variety

Online stores offer a wider variety of products than physical stores. You can find almost anything you need online.

Price Comparisons

Online shopping allows you to compare prices from different sellers, helping you get the best deals.

250 Words Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Online shopping is a revolutionary concept that has transformed the way we conduct our daily transactions. With the internet becoming a ubiquitous presence, the benefits of online shopping are numerous, including convenience, cost savings, and access to a wider range of products.

One of the most significant advantages of online shopping is convenience. It eliminates the need for travel, allowing shoppers to make purchases anytime, anywhere. This is particularly beneficial for those with limited mobility or busy schedules. Additionally, online stores operate 24/7, providing the freedom to shop at one’s own pace and time.

Cost Savings

Online shopping can also lead to significant cost savings. The elimination of physical stores reduces overhead costs, savings which are often passed on to the consumers in the form of lower prices. Furthermore, the ability to compare prices across different online stores ensures that consumers get the best deals.

Wide Product Range

The virtual nature of online shopping allows for a wider product range than traditional brick-and-mortar stores. It provides access to international markets, breaking down geographical boundaries and expanding consumer choice. Additionally, product reviews and ratings aid in making informed purchasing decisions.

In conclusion, online shopping offers numerous benefits that cater to modern consumer needs. It provides convenience, cost savings, and a vast product range, transforming the shopping experience. As technology continues to evolve, these benefits are likely to become even more pronounced, further cementing the importance of online shopping in our lives.

500 Words Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Introduction to online shopping, convenience and comfort.

One of the most significant benefits of online shopping is convenience. You can shop from anywhere, at any time, without worrying about store hours or queue lines. This is particularly beneficial for people with busy schedules, as it allows them to shop at their convenience. Additionally, it eliminates the physical strain of traveling and walking through large, crowded stores.

Wide Range of Choices

Online platforms provide a broader range of products than physical stores. You can access products that are not available in your local area or even your country. This wide range of choices allows you to compare prices, read reviews, and make a more informed purchasing decision.

Cost-Effective and Time-Saving

Privacy in shopping.

Online shopping provides a level of privacy that cannot be matched by physical stores. For people who prefer to shop without the prying eyes of fellow shoppers or salespeople, online shopping is an excellent option. It allows for discreet shopping, especially for items that one might feel uncomfortable buying in a public place.

Easy Comparison of Products and Prices

The online shopping platform allows for easy comparison of products and prices. Customers can browse through different websites to compare prices and read product reviews before making a purchase. This ability to compare and contrast products helps customers make more informed purchasing decisions.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Essay on Online Shopping

Essay generator.

In the digital age, the paradigm of shopping has undergone a transformative shift, moving from traditional brick-and-mortar stores to the vast, boundless expanse of the internet. Online shopping has not only redefined consumer behavior but has also reshaped the global retail landscape, offering a convenience and variety that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. This essay delves into the evolution, benefits, challenges, and future prospects of online shopping, providing a comprehensive overview for students interested in exploring this modern-day phenomenon.

The Advent and Growth of Online Shopping

The inception of online shopping can be traced back to the 1990s, with the launch of the first internet-based retailers. This novel concept leveraged the burgeoning power of the internet to offer consumers the ability to purchase goods without the need to physically visit a store. Over the years, the proliferation of e-commerce platforms and the advent of secure online payment methods have significantly fueled the growth of online shopping. Today, giants like Amazon and eBay, along with countless other e-commerce websites, dominate the digital marketplace, offering everything from books and electronics to groceries and clothing.

Benefits of Online Shopping

Convenience.

The paramount advantage of online shopping is convenience. Consumers can browse and purchase products at any time, from anywhere, without the constraints of store hours or geographical limitations. This 24/7 availability has made it possible for individuals to shop at their own pace and on their own terms.

Wide Range of Products

Online stores offer an unparalleled variety of products, surpassing the physical limits of conventional stores. Shoppers can access a global market, finding niche products that are not available locally. This diversity ensures that consumers can easily compare products, prices, and features, leading to more informed purchasing decisions.

Cost Savings

Online shopping can also lead to significant cost savings. E-commerce stores often offer lower prices than physical stores due to lower overhead costs. Additionally, the ability to compare prices across different platforms easily helps consumers find the best deals. Exclusive online discounts, coupons, and cashback offers further enhance the potential for savings.

Ease of Information

The digital marketplace provides consumers with extensive product information, reviews, and ratings, enabling them to research and evaluate products thoroughly before making a purchase. This level of transparency fosters consumer confidence and satisfaction.

Challenges of Online Shopping

Despite its many advantages, online shopping is not without its challenges.

Cybersecurity Concerns

One of the most pressing issues is cybersecurity. The risk of data breaches and identity theft is a significant concern for online shoppers, necessitating robust security measures to protect personal and financial information.

Lack of Physical Verification

The inability to physically inspect or try out products before purchase can lead to dissatisfaction. This is particularly relevant for categories like clothing and footwear, where fit and feel are important.

Dependence on Technology

Online shopping’s reliance on internet connectivity and digital payment systems can exclude those without access to such technologies, highlighting a digital divide.

Environmental Impact

The environmental footprint of online shopping, driven by packaging waste and carbon emissions from delivery logistics, is a growing concern. While efforts are being made to mitigate these impacts, sustainable practices are not yet widespread in the e-commerce industry.

The Future of Online Shopping

The future of online shopping promises further innovation and expansion. Advancements in technology, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are set to enhance the online shopping experience by allowing consumers to virtually try on clothes or visualize furniture in their homes before making a purchase. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms offers personalized shopping experiences, with recommendations tailored to individual preferences and browsing history.

Sustainability is also becoming a focal point, with more consumers demanding eco-friendly products and practices. E-commerce platforms are responding by adopting sustainable packaging, optimizing delivery routes to reduce carbon emissions, and showcasing environmentally responsible brands.

In conclusion, Online shopping has revolutionized the retail industry, offering convenience, variety, and cost-effectiveness. However, it also presents challenges that need to be addressed to ensure a secure, satisfying, and sustainable shopping experience. As technology advances and consumer expectations evolve, the digital marketplace will continue to adapt, offering new opportunities and solutions. For students participating in an essay writing competition, understanding the complexities of online shopping is crucial. It is not just about the convenience of purchasing goods from the comfort of one’s home but also about recognizing the broader implications on society, the economy, and the environment. As we navigate the digital marketplace, it is essential to be informed, cautious, and conscious of the choices we make, shaping the future of online shopping in a way that benefits all stakeholders.

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Online Shopping Essay

500+ words online shopping essay.

The trend of online shopping has increased in recent times with the increase of e-commerce and digital technology. With just a single click, you can shop for everything by sitting at your home as per your choice, convenience and budget. This essay on online shopping will help students learn about the pros and cons of online shopping. We have also compiled a list of CBSE Essays on different topics to help them improve their essay-writing skills. These essays will also help them improve their scores on the English exam.

What Does Online Shopping Mean?

Online shopping is the activity of buying products and services over the internet using a web browser or mobile app. It means buyers have to go online to reach a seller’s website and then select the product they want to purchase. The buyer can pay for the goods and services either online with a credit or debit card or upon delivery. Online shopping sites are also known by many other names such as e-shop, e-web-store, e-store, internet shop, web-store, web-shop, virtual store and online store. An online shop creates a physical analogy for buying products or services. Some of the famous online retailing corporations which facilitate the experience of online shopping are Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, Myntra, etc.

Online shopping is a growing area of the digital world and technology. Establishing a store on the Internet gives various options to consumers. With the growth of online shopping, most businesses have started selling their products online. Now, just having physical stores is not enough in this fast-paced world. Having online store interfaces for consumers has also become essential for running a business in the current scenario.

Benefits of Online Shopping

There are numerous advantages of online shopping. People feel more convenient while shopping online. They can shop from anywhere at their own convenient time through easy and safe payment methods. Online shopping has empowered consumers with various advantages such as convenience and time-saving, lower search costs, better product selection, lower prices, etc. One of the biggest benefits of online shopping is that you can buy the items you want with just a single click. Online stores are open 24 hours a day and are accessible from any location with an internet connection.

Online stores carry more variations and provide more varieties of a product as compared to traditional stores. This is because online stores don’t need to attractively display their items on shelves, and they can keep a larger amount of inventory on hand. They might also have small amounts of each item since they don’t need to display them and can order more from their supplier as needed.

Online shops tend to provide more information about items for sale than you would get in a physical store. Product descriptions most often include a description from the manufacturer, another description from the vendor, specific technical and size details, reviews from professional magazines and journals, and reviews from people who have bought the product. Having all this information available when you are considering a purchase makes you a more informed consumer without having to perform extra research by yourself.

Online stores are not burdened by the costs of running a physical store, such as the rent of the physical premises and wages of sales staff. The cost savings by online stores lead to lower pricing on the internet, passing on cost savings to shoppers. The internet encourages online vendors to compete with one another by lowering prices.

Disadvantages of Online Shopping

The benefits of shopping online also come with potential risks and dangers. When you shop online, you can’t touch or try out the product. You have to depend upon product pictures only. You can’t buy the product instantly. If you don’t get the product in hand immediately after payment, you have to wait for delivery, which can take days to weeks. There is no guarantee that you will get the product in its original shape; it might get damaged on the way. Sometimes, the product is very different from the pictures and description due to various reasons and also has poor quality. If, after receiving the package, expectations weren’t met, you need to go through a returns process which can be time-consuming. Apart from these, there is also a chance of security threats from online shopping. If the site is not secured, you have a risk of losing your card information.

Online shopping is one of the convenient ways of purchasing different products. However, there are some products which are better if they are purchased from physical stores. So, in the future, we can expect online stores to improve their technology, making way for a much easier and faster shopping experience.

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IELTS Writing Task 2: Essay on online shopping/virtual shopping/e-shopping; with planning and model answer

This IELTS Writing Task 2 post is about ‘online shopping and its merits and demerits’ . Here, I’ve discussed the advantages and disadvantages of virtual/online/e-shopping and presented a model answer on this Task 2 question. This model answer can guide you to write an answer to any online shopping related essay.

Let’s have a look at the question we are going to discuss today.

IELTS Writing Task 2: Essay on online shopping/virtual shopping/e-shopping; with planning and model answer

The language of this task 2 question can be different in different exams.

Here’s another example of the same question:

An increasing number of people are buying what they need online.

What are the advantages and disadvantages for both individuals and companies to shopping online?

Nowadays, e-shopping or shopping online has an increasing trend among shoppers. It has both positive and negative sides. First, we need to make a plan for writing on this topic.

Here’s a short plan that may help you.

Planning and organisation:

Here is how I’ve planned the essay with a 4-paragraph structure:

Introduction: topic + thesis (2 sentences can be sufficient): Introduce the topic – ‘online shopping getting more popular’. Then write a thesis on how you are going to show that there are some positives and negatives of the issue.
Body paragraph on the reasons behind virtual shopping being so popular: You can write about straightforward ideas e.g. people get more convenience, and availability or choice of products. Give some real-life examples here.
Body paragraph on the negative sides of online shopping: Again, present some very general ideas e.g. customers get cheated and people become more isolated. Give some real-life examples here too
Conclusion: restate your ideas Online shopping has both advantages and disadvantages. You can give your personal opinion on how the disadvantages can be reduced.

Now let’s take a look at the model answer.

Model answer: expected band score – 7.5 to 8.0

In recent years, the rate of in-store shopping has plunged due to vast opportunities for buying different products including daily necessaries from hundreds of online stores. This essay will try to demonstrate chances such as convenience and product availability as the reasons behind the popularity of e-shopping whereas it will focus on swindling and isolation as the pitfalls of this issue.

Initially, the prime reason behind the popularity of e-shopping is convenience which can be easily understood from the thousands of virtual shops all over the world. To illustrate, people nowadays are busier than ever because of the fast pace of the world and they want to save as much time as they can for relaxation. Virtual shopping gives this magnificent prospect of time-saving and so people enjoy taking it. Besides, superstores sometimes run out of products in the precise moment when people need them which online shops rarely have this crisis. For instance, I needed a flat-screen monitor a few months ago but my local store had it out of stock. When I peeped into some online stores I found it easily on eBay.

Meanwhile, though shopping on the internet looks very promising, it is not without its setbacks. Many people, mostly the newcomers, regularly complain of getting tricked on virtual shopping and the rate of complaints is increasing at a faster rate. To explain, one of my friends has recently got swindled when he paid in advance for a smartwatch. Additionally, people often become isolated in their rooms through e-shopping which can affect their feelings and behaviour. As an example, a friend of mine started shopping online a couple of years ago even though the nearest superstore was only 500 metres away. His neighbours, nowadays, describe him as an ill-mannered and antisocial person which, needless to say, is the result of being home and becoming isolated from the outer world.

In brief, virtual shoppers obtain greater benefits if compared to in-store shoppers. Converting such shopping to a stress-free experience, it is turning out to be progressively more convenient. However, as clients may sometimes get deceived and become cut off from the social world, concerned authorities should look into the matter cautiously. (360 words)

Here are some other Task 2 questions which can be answered taking help from the given essay example on online shopping:

Some people support online shopping because it is convenient, while others argue that shopping on the internet poses threats. Discuss both views and give your opinions.
Nowadays on-line shopping has become more popular than in-store shopping. Is it a positive or a negative development?
Nowadays many people go shopping in their free time. Shopping has replaced many other activities that people used to choose as their hobby. What are the reasons for this? Is this a positive or negative development?

If you have written any answer to this question, you can post it in the comment box and we can discuss about it in details.

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Click here for a model answer to agree-disagree topic: elderly or young people as company leaders

Click here for a model answer to advantage-disadvantage topic: online shopping

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Give the the Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping- IELTS Writing Task 2

Updated On Dec 27, 2023

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Give the the Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping- IELTS Writing Task 2

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The Essay Writing section of the IELTS Writing Module can be a difficult task for many IELTS Aspirants. Thus, it is vital that you polish your essay writing skills before attempting the IELTS.

Below is a sample IELTS Essay for the IELTS Essay topic:

Give the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping.

Advantages/Disadvantages essay

Introduction

Paraphrase the topic of the essay and mention that the essay will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages.

Paragraph 1 – Talk about the advantages of how online shopping can be beneficial for people.

Paragraph 2 – Implore the disadvantage of online shopping as the cause of concern.

Restate your opinions.

Sample Essay

Despite knowing what time it is on the clock or what the weather is outside or there is a pandemic, we can conveniently buy things that we want from online stores. Very few people feel the need to venture into the stores. There is no denying that online shopping has become more popular and less tiring than in-store shopping. This trend has positive and negative aspects, which are discussed in the following essay.

On the one hand, the online shopping brings in more benefits than in-store shopping. Firstly, it saves time for both buyers and sellers as buyers do not have to travel and sellers need not show their goods one by one to every consumer. Further, they can get a perfect knock-off on the prices and easily compare the products before hitting the purchase button, leading to significant cost benefits for shoppers. In this manner, people can make more sensible decisions after evaluating and considering the price, size, and models. Moreover, it enables them to shop easily from any part of the world.

On the other hand, shopping online does not enable to touch or see the product, in reality, making it hard to examine the quality of the product resulting in purchasing the product of poor quality and sometimes impossible to return or exchange the product, which in turn leads to squandering the money. Another concerning thing is that shopping online has made people compulsive shoppers. Furthermore, there is always a risk of getting financial information to be exploited by hackers for security reasons as there is always news of data breaches even from renowned brands and sites.

On a final note, I would say that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of online shopping. Still, one must be careful of fraud and misrepresentation while buying from different websites.

Band 9 Vocabulary

Meaning – (of a disease) prevalent over a whole country or the world. Example – An influenza pandemic may have skewed the results

Meaning – a business enterprise, typically one that involves risk. Example – There was a recent joint venture between two aircraft manufacturers.

Significant

Meaning – sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy. Example – There was a significant increase in sales after they advertised a heavy discount.

Meaning – done or chosen in accordance with wisdom or prudence or likely to be of benefit. Example – I do not think it is sensible to spend so much on a particular project.

Squandering

Meaning – wasting (something, especially money or time) recklessly and foolishly. Example – She squandered her allowance without any thought.

Meaning – irresistibly interesting or exciting or compelling. Example – Anna was becoming a compulsive viewer of the play.

Meaning – selfishly take advantage of someone in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself. Example – 500 companies sprang up and exploited this new technology.

Meaning – an act of breaking or failing to observe a law, agreement, or code of conduct. Example – He sued the company for breach of the agreement.

Meaning – wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. Example – He claimed he was a licensed psychologist, but he turned out to be a fraud.

Misrepresentation

Meaning – the action or offence of giving a false or misleading account of the nature of something. Example – She is seeking damages on allegations of misrepresentation.

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EssayBanyan.com – Collections of Essay for Students of all Class in English

Essay on Online Shopping

Online shopping in simple words: The form of shopping in which people can easily purchase goods and services by using the internet is called online shopping. Online shopping gives us an idea of the availability of everything online at a cost of our data. Online shopping is a growing and trending aspect. It provides customers with buying various products and services, and sellers to carry on their business and transactions in an online mode. It is time saving and convenient way of shopping. It can be said that it is the development of traditional shopping ways to make shopping more accessible, relaxing, and flexible.

Essay on Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping

Short and Long Online Shopping Essays in English

Find here number of essays on online shopping vs offline shopping under various words limit for the ease of students of different classes. These essays justify all the aspects of online shopping vs offline shopping, so, you can better understand the topic in all perspectives:

Online Shopping Essay 10 Lines (100 – 150 Words)

1) Shopping by making use of the internet is called online shopping.

2) Online shopping allows us to shop for anything from our phones.

3) With online shopping, the days are gone to go to physical markets to buy things.

4) People, who don’t know how to use smartphones, cannot do online shopping.

5) Through online shopping, you can order your favorite things at your doorstep.

6) In online shopping, you can compare the prices of products and can buy the cheaper ones.

7) Alibaba, Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, etc are some famous sites for online shopping.

8) While doing online shopping, you can only see the products virtually.

9) Online shopping does not provide you with the product instantly.

10) Online shopping is a modern and flexible way of buying goods.

Essay 1 (100 words – 150 words) – Challenges of Online Shopping

Introduction

Online shopping is the better way of buying several items of your own choice at one place and get it delivered wherever you do live itself. Therefore we can define online shopping as one of the convenient and interesting ways of shopping. It reduces market crowd and saves our money and time.

Challenges of Online Shopping

Instead of providing best ways to make choices without getting out of our comfort zone, online shopping has many negative aspects too.

It requires a good knowledge of using smart technologies as well as net surfing.
There are many sections of society that do not have easy access to the same and thus are dependent on traditional ways of shopping.
Old people need to specify the products after touching thus they prefer traditional shopping and have not much confidence in online shopping.

Online shopping has turned out to be an essential need of the time. Because, nowadays in the so competitive world, people are busy in their offices and do not have time to shop. And this technology is making their life easier and fast.

Essay 2 (200 – 250 Words) – Essay on Online Shopping is a Boon for or Against

With the emergence of the internet, people can now shop online using their mobile phones or other related electronic devices. Online shops are virtual stores from where people can order the stuff of their choice.

Online Shopping is a Boon : For many people, online shopping is a boon as it offers many advantages. It not only saves your time but also helps to save your money and energy. Instead of spending a whole day in the market, you can buy things by sitting at your home. The prices of products in online shops are comparatively lower than those available offline. One reason behind this is that there is no need of maintaining any physical stores. It also offers different methods of payment. During festive times, online shopping offers discounts on various products. Online shopping is a convenient way of shopping these days.

Online Shopping is a Bane : Everything has a dark side and so is online shopping. The major drawback of shopping online is to compromise with quality. Sometimes you may receive the wrong product and returning can be a headache. You can only check the quality when you receive the product. Even on ordering your product you can get it delivered after some days. No instant service is available in online shopping methods. When doing online shopping, you will miss out on the joy of shopping with your friends or family. Precautions are a must in Online paying, as it involves several risks.

So, we can say that Online Shopping is both, boon and bane, we have to choose and use them as per our interest and skill.

Essay 3 (300 Words) – Essay on Online Shopping vs Offline Shopping or Traditional Shopping

Today, customers have the option to shop either online or offline. Both the methods have some advantages, and they do show some disadvantages. Online shopping is a method of purchasing goods via the internet. Offline shopping is the traditional means of going to the market physically to buy goods. Before the advent of the internet, people only had the option to buy things offline.

Online Shopping

The biggest advantage of Online shopping is time saving. People need not physically go to various shops to purchase items. You can select items of your choice from your phone. Shopping online is a good way to save your energy and money. You need not burn fuel to go to the markets. Another advantage we can enjoy in online purchasing is availability. You can go for online shopping at any time that best suits you, irrespective of your location. The online stores are open 24 hours a day. You need not take a holiday to go shopping.

Offline Shopping or Traditional Shopping

There are many reasons for which people go for offline shopping or traditional shopping instead of shopping online. The major advantage of going to physical stores is that the quality of the product can be checked on the spot. You can even try the clothes for perfect fitting. This feature is lacking in the online market. In traditional shopping, you get the product directly in your hands. No waiting for long days to receive the product. For purchasing items of daily use, traditional stores are far better than online stores. In offline shopping, you can bargain for prices, while in online shopping prices are fixed. Offline shopping gives you the facility of easy return.

So, we can say, both modes of shopping have their own advantages and disadvantages; we have to use them as per our choice and safety.

Essay 4 (400 Words) – Online Shopping: A Positive Approach to Digitalization

Online shopping is an emerging e-commerce technology. What can be more soothing and easier than facing the rush and crowd of the markets offering a limited range of products at a time? Yes, it is online shopping, making the way to shop easier and more convenient. The sellers are making the product details online which can be easily seen while browsing the website. There are many websites that have easy access.

Pleasure of Online Shopping

We are well aware of this fact that most of the people find shopping as an interesting aspect. Generally, women and girls are addicted to shopping. Now, since technology is advancing day by day and letting newer ways to develop, we have been benefitted by a way of shopping by sitting at our places and browsing over the internet. We are able to get various range of products in a single place. Also, we can search for the product related to men, women, and kids by entering the categories in the spaces meant for the same. We search, select, and order for the products and services and get it delivered to our places.

This is helping the people in remote areas too. We could search and order for the latest apparel through online mode. Generally, the shops are taking the time to bring and present the same.

The most preferred online shopping sites are Snapdeal, Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Ajio, etc.

Online shopping – a Positive Approach to Digitalization

Online shopping involves transactions or business over the internet. The buyer purchases the products and services required, by means of choosing the same over the internet. Therefore the technology is leading towards the digitalization concept. The normal shopping has been given a new face by the addition of technological aids. Offline or traditional ways have been advanced by making it online. It is a successful change in the business strategy. The new ideas and methods have been implemented to make it flourish, and provide greater revenue or economical benefits.

Online shopping is the result of a change in business strategy therefore helping in competing. It is proving it to be an easier, convenient, and better option and therefore is the best example of the concept of digitalization.

We can say that online shopping is a trending business. We can search for our choices over the internet by sitting in one place. We can get our desired products and can also gift the same to our close ones. Online shopping successfully reduced the pressure on traditional shopping methods and is time-saving too.

Long Essay 5 (500 Words) – Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping

Technological advancements are changing our standards and lifestyle. One of the fascinating aspects of technology has favored is Online shopping that is the best way to business and safe transactions over the internet. It provides us broader way to search, choose and delivered the desired products and services at our specified addresses.

People these days are tugged up with several work pressures. They are spending much of their time intervals in offices or other important works. Traditional ways of shopping require a larger time to be consumed by visiting different stores for different products. Therefore online shopping provides a way to tackle the same by saving time and effort.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping

Everything in this world is connected with both positive and negative aspects. The same is with online shopping too. On one hand, it is benefitting, and on the other hand, it has disadvantages too.

Advantages of Online Shopping:

It provides us with a convenient way of shopping.
We can see different products and services just by one click. Different variants are available in the required size and shapes.
It saves us from the rush and crowd of the markets. Also, saves our time wasted in roaming from one shop to another and standing in queues for hours for billing purposes.
We get products in our price ranges and also at a lower price.
We can order dresses according to our choice and occasion requirements. As most of the time, we are unable to get the dress we want, in offline shopping.

Disadvantages of Online Shopping:

The products we buy, generally when delivered, do not match with one we have ordered.
If we require the product immediately, then we cannot have that option or we will have to pay extra charges.
Offline shopping has a benefit to buy the product and use it immediately, but when we opt for online shopping the same benefit is not granted.
Many of the times we save our card details for the transaction purpose, hackers use the same card details for the cybercrime.
The returning of any product may be chargeable and time taking too.
Most of the time, damaged goods are received.

Online Shopping – Best Option during Pandemic (Covid-19)

The outbreak of COVID-19, throughout the world was most devastating for us. During those times, moving outside was banned and different countries were under lockdown for several months. People, all over the world, preferred online mediums to get their products and services ordered and delivered.

Therefore it can be stated that online shopping has been the best choice or alternative. People have been provided with the option of getting delivered every product at their doorstep.

Online shopping is the love of youngsters of today’s generation. It is an interesting way of exploring several products with variety and different prices at the same portal or place. Online shopping has blessed us with emerging ideas to give surprises to our closed ones on their special days. But on other accounts, it has some of the impacts too.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

Ans . Online shopping was invented by an entrepreneur Michael Aldrich in 1979.

Ans . The concept of online shopping begins in India in 1995.

Ans . The first online shopping site launched in India was Amazon.

Ans . The website through which customers can easily purchase goods and services is called an online store.

Ans . The world’s largest online shopping retailer is Amazon.

Buying things on the Internet (Corrected essay)

Buying things on the Internet, such as books, air tickets and groceries, is becoming more and more popular. Do the advantages of shopping in this way outweigh the disadvantages?

WRITING TASK 2

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

----------------------------

Sample essay written by Nguyen Yen

In recent years, there has been a growing trend that people tend to buy things on the Internet. This present both pros and cos, however, in my opinion, its benefits are much more significant than the drawbacks.

In recent years, there has been a growing trend that people tend to buy things on the Internet in online shopping . This present both pros and cos cons , however, in my opinion, its benefits are much more significant than the drawbacks.

The phrase “buy things on the Internet” is already used in the essay topic. Try to shorten it by using a suitable buzzword, such as “online shopping”

Words such as 'people' and 'ideas' have the potential to be vague. So, avoid saying “people tend to” if possible.

The second sentence in the introduction has too many commas. Break it into two simple sentences if necessary.

On the one hand, shopping online online shopping brings to the consumers some disadvatages. Initially, since people are unable to touch or to see the products they want to buy in reality, it is always hard for them to examine the quality of these products. As a result, they might purchase the items with poor quality. In addition to that, as the consumers do not feel happy with the items they had bought online, they tend to abandon these products or dont do not use them at all. This is definitely a watse waste of money. Moreover, buyings thing on the Internet often makes people confused since there are a great number of shops on the Internet. To be specific, the buyers might see the same products in several shops, but the prices for these items can be very different, ranging from reasonable to prohibitedly expensive price . Consequently, they will not know which products they should purchase.

The second sentence is too wordy, due to the fact that the words “ people ”, “ they ”, and “ them ” all have been used despite being unnecessary. Since the main focus here is the products, not the people using them, I suggest rewriting the whole sentence into passive voice .

Avoid using contraction (“ don’t ”) in an academic context.

The ideas and sentence structures being used here are kinda repetitive. Regarding of online shopping, there are many issues that are worth mentioning ( shipment delays, misleading online marketing, annoying advertises, etc)

On the other hand, I am of the opinion that shopping online online shopping brings people a number of benefits. First, shopping online online shopping allows the consumers to browse for products and checking comparing the prices between these online shops. In this way, people can make a better decision to buy what they like after taking prices, sizes and models of the products into consideration. To speak From my experience, I used to buy an elegant dress es at virtual shop s , which was cheaper compared to that of some shops near my houses. Second, buyings things on the Internet helps people save a great deal of time. That is to say, since people nowadays are often so caught up with work and study, shopping online online shopping is a wise choice which doesn’t does not require them to go the the stores. With a click of mouse With just a click , they can buy the things they need and the shippers will deliver their products to the customers as soon as possible. Third, since there is a high demand of buying things online, many people can realize their dream of starting up their own business and achieve success in the long rub run. This can be seen as a positive trend because it creates good job opportunities for the people and thereby help people to improve their income and well-being. This also contributes to boost ing the economy of a nation in general l .

While the second body paragraph is very long (216 words!), its quaility doesn’t appear much better than the first one. Try to write only 70 words, you will definitely see an improvement.

Many idioms are introduced in this paragraph: “a great deal of time”, “in the long run”, “to be caught up”, “to take in consideration”, “with just a click”. However, the attempt to use them isn’t really succesful, due to some spelling mistakes.

The vocabulary is kinda limitted here. However, there are a variety of connectives (“on the one hand”, , “first”, “in this way”, “thereby”, etc).

In conclusion, although buyings things on the Internet exerts some adverse aspects, the advantages can justify these.

Too short and unconvincing. Need to give more emphasis.

Words: 418 words

Overall: 6.5

Task Response: 7

✓ addresses all parts of the task (the essay has answer the required question, and write more than 250 words) ✓ presents a clear position throughout the response ✓ presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to overgeneralise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus

Coherence and Cohesion: 7

✓ logically organises information and ideas; there is clear progression throughout ✓ uses a range of cohesive devices appropriately although there may be some under-/over-use ✓ presents a clear central topic within each paragraph

Lexical Resource: 6

✓ uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task ✓ attempts to use less common vocabulary but with some inaccuracy (the writer uses very few topic-related words. And when they are used, mistakes are presented “shopping online” ) ✓ makes some errors in spelling and/or word formation, but they do not impede communication

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: 6

✓ uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms ✓ makes some errors in grammar and punctuation but they rarely reduce communication (lots of the article “the” are missing, so I cannot give a 7 score here)

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This essay is corrected by Anh Tran - Let's Write Something Group .

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Other sample essay

With the advent of technological advancement, 21st century has witnessed a boom in e-commerce. The number of online shopping websites is increasing exponentially. Shopping online has its upsides and downsides but the positives of this technological blessing far outweighs its negatives.

Firstly, online shopping saves one from travel and traffic problems. I live in the outskirts of Karachi and commuting to the city for buying stuff is not an easy task for me. Further, Karachi is an overly-populated city with the worst traffic situation, all this makes it more difficult to travel. This problem is hugely resolved by the e-buying facility. Everything is simply a click away, whether it is groceries, air tickets, clothes or books. Whatever I order is duly received at my doorstep, without my having to embark on long, hectic shopping-trips.

Secondly, buying things on the internet provides you with a wide range of options. Consider yourself in a gigantic super-mart having access to every type of item you can imagine! On the internet there is no physical space limitation, therefore the variety available for a single item is endless. Also, there are countless websites where you can compare product prices, specifications, extra features, deals and a lot more. One such website is Compare.Pk, where you can select an item and compare it with similar items of other brands for specifications and prices. All this not only provides convenience to customers but also exposes them to a very huge market for buying the most appropriate item.

In conclusion, it can be unambiguously agreed upon that the advancement in e-buying has resulted in convenience for buyers. One only has to select and order an item and it arrives at his doorstep. Also, the available options for a single commodity are endless, so that a person can compare and buy the best.

(Written by Narmeen Habib )

Corrected Essay:

With the advent of technological advancement, 21st century has witnessed a boom in e-commerce the number of online shopping websites is increasing exponentially. Shopping online has its upsides and downsides but the positives of this technological blessing far outweighs its negatives . The positive impacts on online shopping undermine its negative sides because the advanced technology can save our time and give more options for purchasing .

The opening paragraph does not contain a clear thesis statement. It is important to tell what you are going to talk about and where you are positioning on the views.

Phrases ‘ a boom in e commerce’ and ‘ is increasing exponentially’ have similar meaning. It is better to keep it in short, but clear sentence.

Firstly, online shopping saves one from travel and traffic problems. Online shopping does not require people to travel . I live in the outskirts of Karachi and commuting to the city for buying stuff is not an easy task for me. Further, Karachi is an overly-populated city with the worst traffic situation, all this makes it more difficult to travel. As living in Karachi, an over-populated city with its congestion problems, many citizens like me have to overcome difficult situation only for buying stuff in the city centre . This problem is hugely resolved by the e-buying facility. Everything is simply a click away, whether it is groceries, air tickets, clothes or books. Whatever I order is duly received at my doorstep, without my having to embark on long, hectic shopping-trips . This platform enables consumers to experience shopping activities in simple ways. Take the biggest e-commerce in the word, eBay which provides wide varieties of products, for example. As a student, I often ordered books, air tickets, and fashion items. Likewise, many housewives in my neighbourhood prefer to purchase groceries through this website. If eBay was never exist before, buyers like us might have to spend longer times taking long trips to get our shopping lists. This example tells about how an effective shopping is advantageous as a time saver.

Firstly is ommited as the topic sentence is not too clear enough to represent the main idea.

The use of ‘I’ in your example does not cover people’ problems in general, so I have changed ‘I’ into ‘ many citizen like me’

Everything is simply a click away needs to be elaborated . Please see the changes.

You only mention groceries, air tickets, clothes or books without giving explanation. If you want to score higher, it is your task to present your ideas in details. I have made some detailed explanations with this.

Secondly, Another benefit is that buying things items on the internet serves unlimited choices provides you with a wide range of options . Consider yourself in a gigantic super-mart having access to every type of item you can imagine! On the internet there is no physical space limitation, therefore the variety available for a single item is endless. Also, there are countless websites where you can compare product prices, specifications, extra features, and deals and a lot more . One such website is Compare.Pk, where you can select an item and compare it with similar items of other brands for specifications and prices. All this not only provides convenience to customers but also exposes them to a very huge market for buying the most appropriate item.

You need to link both main ideas in the first sentence using transitional phrase. But remember, reliance too much on this will score you lower. Use them when necessary .

The word ‘ things’ is a weak lexical resource. It is better to use some alternative vocabs like stuff, items, daily needs , etc.

A wide range of options have been mentioned in the intro, you need to paraphase it. Serves unlimited choices.

You do not need to use exclamation mark. Present your sentence in a smooth way.

Consider yourself in a gigantic super-mart having access to every type of item you can imagine!. This sentence also does not make a sense.

And a lot more is vague. You’d better omit this phrase.

In conclusion, it can be unambiguously agreed upon it is true that the advancement in e-buying has resulted in convenience for buyers. One only has to select and order an item and it arrives at his doorstep. Also, the available options for a single commodity are endless, so that a person can compare and buy the best.

You have to summarise your main points and reiterate your opinion. Some ideas presented are sidetrack.

Your opinion does not state your opinion clearly.

It can be unambiguously agreed upon is counted as 6 words. It is always good to be succinct and keep straight to the point.

Let me give you an example of this: In conclusion, the disadvantages of e-commerce trend are overshadowed by the benefits resulting from modern technology. I am convinced that online shopping is one of great innovations of people doing transaction as it reduces time and provides more options.

Overall: 7.0

· Task Response: 7

✓ addresses all parts of the task (the author wrote 303 words)

✗ presents a clear position throughout the response (the way you present your idea in the intro is too generic)

✓ presents, extends and supports main ideas, but there may be a tendency to overgeneralise and/or supporting ideas may lack focus

· Coherence and Cohesion: 6

✓ arranges information and ideas coherently and there is a clear overall progression

✓ uses cohesive devices effectively, but cohesion within and/or between sentences may be faulty or mechanical

✓ may not always use referencing clearly or appropriately

✗ uses paragraphing, but not always logically ( missing links between intro and conclusion)

Lexical Resource: 7

✓ uses a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision

✓ uses less common lexical items with some awareness of style and collocation

✓ may produce occasional errors in word choice, spelling and/or word formation

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: 7

✓ uses a variety of complex structures

✓ has produces frequent error-free sentences

✓ has good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors

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This essay is corrected by Eddy Suaib .

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Social Security Matters

Changes are coming to how you access social security’s online services.

July 12, 2024 • By Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Last Updated: July 12, 2024

We’re making changes to the way you access Social Security’s online services, including your personal my Social Security account . The changes will simplify your sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards. At the same time, we’re continuing to provide safe and secure access to our online services.

If you created your my Social Security account before September 18, 2021, you will still be able to use your username and password to sign in. However, you will not be able to do so for much longer.

In the near future, all users will need to have an account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me – to access your personal my Social Security account and other online services.

To learn more, read our press release . If you have an existing Login.gov or ID.me account, you do NOT need to create a new one. And, if you can access your personal my Social Security accoun t through Login.gov or ID.me, you don’t need to take any action.

If you don’t have a Login.gov account

To avoid any disruptions in accessing Social Security’s online services you may want to transition your account now by signing in with your Social Security username. Our online instructions will guide you through the process of creating a new account with Login.gov. Once you successfully link your personal my Social Security account with your new Login.gov account, you’ll get a confirmation screen and have immediate access to our online services. In the future, you’ll sign in to your account with Login.gov and not your Social Security username.

We encourage you to make the transition to Login.gov or ID.me now before the username option goes away later this year.

You’ll find more helpful information here .

Please share these important upcoming changes with your family members, friends, and colleagues.

Did you find this Information helpful?

Tags: General Information , my Social Security , online services

About the Author

Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Learn about social security online in 2024, three online social security musts, social security online: your first and best place to start, my social security: what to know about signing up or signing in.

July 23, 2024 12:16PM

I cant tell if I successfully transitioned to Login.gov or not. It says something about 2 forms of identification. Did I provide it or not??

It was so confusing, and not user friendly at all. Why change something that was working just fine?

July 23, 2024 12:14PM

After a long drugged out process and a whole lot of frustration I was finally able to create an account on Log-in.gov. But when I login using that site I can only access my profile page or or choices to change my preferences but can’t access my social security information at all. It shows a list of what supposed to be my linked accounts but that list was empty. I’d created an ID.Me account several years ago and I’m able to access my social security account on that site but prefer to use the government site instead of a third party site.

July 22, 2024 3:45PM

Followed directions to transition from My Social Security and in the end was told that Login.gov couldn’t work because the SS # and phone # were already being used. Of Course they are! in My Social Security account which I’ve had for years. This won’t work.

July 22, 2024 2:57PM

I can create a login/gov account, but how do I get an activation code….stuck in a loop of doom.

July 22, 2024 2:47PM

I am totally exasperated with trying to create a login.gov account! Even with the assistance of customer service, I failed to do so. To top it off, I was disconnected while she & I were trouble shooting to resolve the issue. So far, I have not been reconnected. For what it’s worth, the agent on the line was trying to be helpful & understanding until we got cut off.. We are dealing with a nightmare scenario specially for a lot of seniors

Christopher W.

I tried transitioning and now I cannot log on at all because it says I don’t exist. What the fuck

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How to set spending limits on debit and credit cards

PayPal Editorial Staff

July 23, 2024

Keeping track of spending is an important part of financial health. One way to do this is by setting spending limits on credit and debit cards.

Read on to understand what a spending limit on a credit or debit card is, as well as how to set it up and manage it.

What is a spending limit?

A spending limit is a pre-set maximum amount of money that can be spent or withdrawn using a debit or credit card within a specific timeframe or on a single purchase.

By providing a built-in safeguard to enforce financial boundaries, spending limits can support the efforts of building a personal budget . These limits can help protect card users from overspending and may aid in preventing fraud if card details are stolen and used for a large or unusual purchase.

How spending limits function for debit cards

Debit card spending limits are directly linked to the cardholder's bank account balance, ensuring that they only spend available funds.

However, overdraft features — where a bank can authorize individuals to spend beyond their current balance — can affect this limit. While this feature can allow transactions to process despite insufficient funds, accounts may incur additional fees and further account deficits.

How spending limits function for credit cards

Credit cards typically come with two options to limit spending: 1) credit card limits and 2) purchase or spending limits.

A credit card limit, determined by the card issuer, reflects the total amount that can be borrowed based on creditworthiness. This amount is usually determined by an evaluation of the card holder’s income, credit history, and existing debt levels.

Purchase and spending limits are set by cardholders. These are typically lower than the overall credit limit and can be adjusted to fit individual financial strategies. This allows for control over spending to stay within budgets and help prevent fees from snowballing.

Types of spending limits

There are three main types of spending limits: daily, transactional, and monthly. Here’s how each works:

Daily limits

Daily spending limits cap the amount that can be spent within a single day. For example, if a cardholder’s debit card daily limit is $500, they cannot spend more than $500 in one day.

Monthly limits

Monthly spending limits set the total amount that can be spent or withdrawn from a card within a month. If a credit card has a monthly limit of $3,000, cardholders cannot spend more than $3,000 in that month.

Transaction limits

Transactional limits are restrictions on the amount that can be spent on a single transaction. For instance, a credit card may have a transaction limit where any single purchase exceeding $1,000 requires prior authorization from the card issuer.

How to set credit card and debit card spending limits

While the process differs for each bank and credit card provider — and may not always be available — here’s how setting a spending limit typically works:

Log in to the cardholder account: Begin by accessing the card provider’s online portal or mobile app.
Navigate to card management: Look for a section like “Card Services,” “Card Management,” or “Spending Controls.”
Set or adjust limits: The card management area will typically have options for setting or adjusting spending limits.
Consider temporary adjustments: Some banks offer the option to temporarily adjust spending limits for travel or emergencies.

Prefer personal assistance or can’t find the settings online? Contact the bank or card issuer. They can usually help set or modify spending limits for cardholders.

Although setting spending limits might seem like a "set it and forget it" solution, it's essential to monitor financial transactions and adjust budgeting strategies regularly.

Potential benefits of spending limits

Some of the potential benefits of spending limits include:

Greater savings: Spending limits encourage cardholders to make more thoughtful and planned purchases, which could lead to more savings via less spending over time.
Security: Spending limits provide a potential layer of protection from fraudulent transactions. A spending limit could prevent a stolen card from being used for a large transaction that exceeds the limit or help alert cardholders to potential fraud.
Better financial discipline: Like other tools that automate personal finances , limits enforce a budget constraint that can help people stick to their financial goals.

Learn about PayPal Cards and Credit Products .

Spending limits FAQ

Can i set a spending limit on my credit card.

Most credit card issuers allow cardholders to set spending limits on their credit cards. These limits can typically be set through the provider’s online portal or mobile app.

Can I set a spending limit on my debit card?

Spending limits can be set up on debit cards by visiting the card provider’s website or mobile app. Availability may vary depending on the card and card provider.

What does a "no preset spending limit" mean?

Cards with a "no preset spending limit" has an adaptive limit based on the cardholder's financial behavior and spending history. This does not imply unlimited spending; instead, issuers will monitor account activity and may decline transactions that appear risky or exceed typical spending patterns.

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Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping 2024: Top Picks, Benefits, and Expert Insight

Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews .

The information for the following product(s) has been collected independently by Business Insider: Chase Freedom Flex®, Citi® Double Cash Card. The details for these products have not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.

Introduction to the Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping

If you prefer shopping from the comfort of your couch over braving a packed mall, a credit card with enhanced benefits for online shopping can make the experience even more rewarding — in more ways than one.

What Makes a Credit Card Ideal for Online Shopping? Key Features and Benefits

The best credit card for online shopping depends on the type of rewards you like to earn, as well as any card-linked discounts or offers available to you. Some consumers prefer choosing from the best cash-back credit cards for no-fuss earnings, while others prefer focusing on the best travel rewards credit cards for free travel.

If you're buying something large or expensive, such as a kitchen appliance or a new TV, make sure your credit card also offers valuable benefits such as extended warranties and purchase protection.

What About Store Credit Cards?

Retail co-branded credit cards are almost always a bad idea because of limited rewards, sky-high interest rates, and several other factors. But there are a few exceptions for store credit card drawbacks , typically mega-retailers like Amazon, Target, and Costco that offer up to 5% cash back on purchases made from their stores or online websites.

Compare the Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping

Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠. Earn 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services. Earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.

0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months

20.49% - 29.24% Variable

Earn $200 cash bonus

Good to Excellent

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No annual fee
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Generous bonus cash-back categories
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Great welcome bonus
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Booking through Chase Travel℠ can restrict outside earning potential
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Varying percentages and rotating calendar categories require extra attention
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. 3% foreign transaction fees

The Chase Chase Freedom Flex® is a great pick if you want one of the best no-annual-fee cards with big earning potential and impressive benefits. It's an even better choice if you already collect Ultimate Rewards points with other Chase cards, because you can combine your points and potentially get even more value.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Earn 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). Earn 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. Earn 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations. Earn 3% Cash Back on transit (including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more). Earn 1% Cash Back on other purchases. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.

$0 intro for the first year, then $95

0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers from the date of account opening

19.24% - 29.99% Variable

Earn a $250 statement credit

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Generous bonus rewards, especially at U.S. supermarkets
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. One of a small handful of credit cards that offer bonus rewards on select streaming services
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Intro APR offer
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Unlike many other cash-back cards, it charges an annual fee
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. If you spend more than $6,000 at US supermarkets each year, you'll want to use another card once you reach that cap

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred is one of the best cash-back cards, particularly for consumers who spend a lot of money at U.S. supermarkets, use streaming services, or have lots of commuting and gas expenses. The annual fee is worth it if your typical spending lines up with the card's bonus categories.

Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 intro plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 intro plan fees on plans created during the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.33% of each eligible purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.
Low Intro APR: 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.24% - 29.99%.
6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations.
3% Cash Back on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more).
1% Cash Back on other purchases.
Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
$84 Disney Bundle Credit: With your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred Card, spend $9.99 or more each month on an auto-renewing Disney Bundle subscription, to receive a monthly statement credit of $7. Valid only at Disney Plus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com in the U.S.
Terms Apply.

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 15 months from account opening

20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable

Earn $200 cash rewards bonus

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Good welcome bonus for a $0 annual fee card
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Straightforward 2% cash rewards on purchases with no categories to track
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Strong benefits including cell phone protection, Visa Signature perks, and an intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. If you've opened a Wells Fargo card in the past six months, you may not qualify for an additional Wells Fargo credit card
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Foreign transaction fees

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is definitely worth considering if you want to earn a strong rate of cash rewards on purchases without rotating categories or earning caps and with no annual fee. It's got a solid welcome bonus and intro APR offer, which puts it high on our list of the best zero-interest credit cards.

Select "Apply Now" to take advantage of this specific offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5.
$0 annual fee.
No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don't expire as long as your account remains open.
Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.

Capital One Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Earn unlimited 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Earn 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel. Earn unlimited 2 miles on all other purchases.

19.99% - 29.99% variable

Earn 75,000 bonus miles

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Excellent welcome bonus and miles earning
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Premium perks including airport lounge access and credits for certain purchases
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Visa Infinite benefits including travel and shopping protections
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. High annual fee
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Annual travel credits only apply to Capital One Travel purchases

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is one of the best credit cards for frequent travelers, with top-notch benefits and a wide range of built-in protections. It comes with a generous welcome bonus and credits that can help offset the annual fee — which is much lower than similar premium cards.

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
Elevate every hotel stay from the Premier or Lifestyle Collections with a suite of cardholder benefits, like an experience credit, room upgrades, and more
Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®

Earn 10% back or more on a rotating selection of items and categories on Amazon.com with an eligible Prime membership. Earn unlimited 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market and on Chase Travel℠ purchases with an eligible Prime membership. Earn unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare). Earn unlimited 1% back on all other purchases.

Earn a $200 Amazon gift card

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 5% cash back at Amazon, Whole Foods, and travel booked through Chase is hard to beat
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Good travel benefits and purchase protections
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Must be an Amazon Prime member to qualify
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Other cards offer higher cash-back rates on non-Amazon purchases

The Amazon Prime Visa is a good choice if you're already an Amazon Prime member — and do quite a bit of online shopping. It comes with decent benefits for a no-annual-fee credit card, and its earning rates are exceptional.

Get a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval exclusively for Prime members
Earn unlimited 5% back at Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market and on Chase Travel purchases with an eligible Prime membership
Prime Card Bonus: Earn 10% back or more on a rotating selection of items and categories on Amazon.com with an eligible Prime membership
Earn unlimited 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and on local transit and commuting (including rideshare)
Earn unlimited 1% back on all other purchases
No annual credit card fee
No more waiting. Redeem daily rewards at Amazon.com as soon as the next day
Member FDIC

For a limited time, earn 5% cash back on hotel and car rentals booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24. Also earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.

0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months

19.24% - 29.24% Variable

Earn $200 cash back

Excellent, Good, Fair

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Simple earning structure without confusing bonus categories
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. Some cards earn higher rates of cash back on rotating categories
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. While it has an introductory APR offer, that's only on balance transfers, not purchases, so you can't use it to fund a major expense without interest

The Citi® Double Cash Card doesn't come with a lot of bells and whistles. But earning 2% cash back (1 point per dollar at the time of purchase and 1 point per dollar when you pay your bill) without an annual fee is an excellent deal. It's also one of our picks for the best balance transfer credit cards.

Earn 4% cash back on eligible gas and EV charging purchases for the first $7,000 per year (then 1% thereafter). Earn 3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases. Earn 2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com. Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

20.49% Variable

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Generous cash-back categories, especially for gas purchases
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. No foreign transaction fee
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. You can only receive rewards once per year
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. You need to visit a Costco location to redeem rewards for cash back instead of merchandise

If you're a Costco member and you spend a lot of money on gas or EV charging, the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi card can a great option. Just remember that your rewards will only become available to you once per year, and that you'll have to visit a brick-and-mortar Costco store to get your cash back or to cash in your rewards for merchandise.

TD Bank USA, N.A. Mastercard Target Circle™️ Credit Card

Earn 5% back at Target and Target.com. Earn 2% on dining and gas purchases. Earn 1% everywhere else outside of Target.

Get a $50 credit

Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. 5% instant discount on most Target purchases
Check mark icon A check mark. It indicates a confirmation of your intended interaction. Exclusive Target benefits including free two-day shipping
con icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. High APR

Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping in 2024

Best for rotating 5% cash back categories with no annual fee: Chase Freedom Flex®
Best for groceries and streaming services: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Best for flat-rate 2% cash back: Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
Best for 2% cash back on travel: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Best for flat-rate 2% cash back with a long 0% intro APR: Citi® Double Cash Card
Best for Amazon and Whole Foods purchases: Prime Visa
Best for Costco purchases: Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi
Best for Target purchases: Target Circle™️ Credit Card

Best Credit Card for Online Shopping Reviews

Best for rotating 5% cash back categories: chase freedom flex®.

The Chase Freedom Flex® is an excellent pick if you want to earn bonus cash back (in the form of Chase Ultimate Rewards® points ) across a wide variety of categories.

Cardholders earn 5% on up to $1,500 spent in combined purchases (then 1%) in rotating quarterly bonus categories . They also earn 3 points per dollar on restaurants, takeout, food delivery services, and drug store purchases, as well as 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Travel ℠ Portal .

New cardholders also get 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, then 20.49% - 29.24% Variable APR. So if you need time to pay off your holiday purchases, this card can save you on interest.

Finally, this no-annual-fee card offers a welcome bonus of $200 cash bonus (received as 20,000 bonus points) after spending $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening .

Best for Groceries and Streaming Services: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a solid choice if you prefer cash back over travel rewards. Whether you're stocking up on holiday groceries or picking up gifts for your foodie friends at U.S. supermarkets, you'll earn 6% back on up to $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year, then 1% after that.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express cardholders also earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services; 3% back on U.S. gas stations and transit; and 1% back on all other eligible purchases. Cash back is earned in the form of Rewards Dollars, which can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.

Read More: Blue Cash Preferred Card review

Best for Flat-Rate 2% Cash Back: Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

This credit card is as straightforward as it gets. The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases and offers 0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 15 months from account opening, followed by a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR. New cardholders can also earn $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months from account opening.

This card also comes with some pretty generous benefits for a no-annual-fee product: Cellphone protection, roadside dispatch, travel and emergency assistance services, and Visa Signature benefits.

Read More: Wells Fargo Active Cash card review

Best for 2% Cash Back (or More) on Travel: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium travel credit card that earns 2 Capital One miles per dollar on most purchases.

These rewards are worth at least 1 cent each toward travel, but you can get significantly more value out of them with a little bit of effort. Business Insider estimates Capital One miles are worth an average of 1.7 cents each when you transfer them to airline and hotel partners like Air Canada, Turkish Airlines, Wyndham, and more. If you agree with our valuations, earning 2 miles per dollar is equivalent to a 3.4% return per dollar spent on pretty much anything — a generous amount by any standard.

This card offers 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening and comes with benefits that blow all other cards on this list out of the water, including:

$300 per year in credits toward Capital One Travel bookings
Priority Pass , Plaza Premium, and Capital One airport lounge access (Personal Finance Insider values this as worth at least $429 per year)
10,000-mile bonus each account anniversary (worth at least $100 in travel)
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
High-grade travel insurance
Return protection
Extended warranty
Cellphone protection

Read More: Capital One Venture X Rewards card review

Best for 2% Cash Back with Long 0% Intro APR: Citi® Double Cash Card

If you'd rather not keep track of different bonus categories and prefer simplicity, the Citi® Double Cash Card is a great choice. You'll earn 2% cash back (1% when you buy, and 1% when you pay) on all purchases, so it's ideal for purchases that don't fall into typical bonus categories.

That said, a very similar card you might also want to consider is the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. Like the Citi® Double Cash Card, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns 2% cash rewards on purchases, for no annual fee. If you're having a hard time deciding which card to choose, go with the card issuer you already have a relationship with.

Best for Amazon and Whole Foods: Prime Visa

The Prime Visa is a solid choice if you want a credit card that offers a bonus on Amazon purchases . This card offers a welcome bonus of a $200 Amazon Gift Card instantly upon approval exclusively for Prime members and doesn't come with an annual fee.

Cardholders earn 5% cash back on Amazon, Whole Foods, and Chase Travel℠ purchases with a Prime Membership when your card is loaded to your eligible Amazon account. (If you don't link your card to an Amazon account with a Prime membership, you'll only earn 3% back on these purchases.) The Prime Visa also earns 2% back at restaurants, gas stations, and on local transit and commuting including rideshares such as Uber and Lyft. Finally, you'll earn 1% back on all other purchases.

The Prime Visa is a Visa Signature card, so it also comes with substantial benefits including extended warranty, purchase protection, and car rental insurance.

Read More: Amazon Prime Visa Card Review

Best for Costco Shopping: Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi

The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi is well-optimized for Costco customers and earns cash back at the following rates:

4% cash back on eligible gas and electric vehicle charging worldwide on up to $7,000 in spending each year (then 1%)
3% cash back on restaurants and eligible travel purchases worldwide
2% cash back on all other purchases from Costco and Costco.com
1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Earning 4% back at gas stations and on electric vehicle charges is just about as good as it gets. You don't have to fill up at Costco to get this return rate; you can earn 4% anywhere as long as you pay with this card. A 3% return is also respectable for restaurants and travel purchases, but you can do better (as we'll see in a bit).

Aside from the card's return rates, its only real benefits are purchase protection and that it doesn't charge foreign transaction fees .

The Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi comes with a $0 annual fee, so it's free to keep forever. The card does not come with a sign-up bonus at this time, though Costco customers have found themselves occasionally being targeted for an intro offer by inquiring at a Costco warehouse.

Read More: Costco Anywhere Visa Card review

Best for Target Shoppers: Target Circle™️ Credit Card

The Target Circle™️ Credit Card offers an automatic 5% discount for cardholders who shop at Target.com, in Target retail stores, and at Starbucks locations within Target stores. Cardholders also enjoy exclusive benefits such as an additional 30 days for returns, free two-day shipping on many online purchases, and targeted sales and discounts for additional savings.

How to Pick the Best Credit Card for Online Shopping

Picking up a new credit card can help you earn a big bonus and more rewards on all your holiday shopping this year, but there are more ways to maximize your spending. Here's everything you should look for if you're searching for the best credit card for online shopping:

Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty

All the credit cards listed in this guide offer solid rewards for big purchases. But the best ones offer the right type of rewards and a selection of perks you can use. Make sure to check whether your credit card comes with consumer benefits like purchase protection and extended warranties.

Purchase protection can replace or repair an item that is damaged or stolen within a specific length of time, usually up to 90 days. Meanwhile, a credit card that offers extended warranties can add an additional year of warranty protection or longer on TVs, computers and similar big-ticket items that come with a manufacturer's warranty.

Cards at every price point offer purchase protection and extended warranty, from the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex® to the premium The Platinum Card® from American Express with a $695 annual fee. Some cards come with an annual or lifetime cap on reimbursement, so make sure you haven't maxed out your claim allowance before making a big purchase.

High Rewards Earning Rate

Make sure to consider credit cards that offer the most rewards in categories you can use this year. Cards that offer bonus points for department store purchases and grocery store purchases often work best for the holiday season.

Not all purchases will be eligible for bonus rewards, and in those cases you'll want a card that earns more than 1% back on non-bonus spending. The Citi Double Cash Card (up to 2% back — 1% when you buy and 1% when you pay) and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (1.5% back on non-bonus purchases) are good options in this situation.

Welcome Bonus

Cards that offer a sign-up bonus will leave you with a more generous rewards haul after the holiday season is over — making this period before the holidays an ideal time to apply and maximize your spending. Just make sure you can comfortably meet the minimum spending requirement in time. Check out our roundup of the best credit card welcome offers available now to see if anything catches your eye.

0% Intro APR Offers

We always recommend consumers avoid carrying a credit card balance if possible. But if you need to float a balance for a set amount of time, check the best 0% APR credit card offers to do so without incurring interest. Of course, you should make a plan to pay off your balance before the introductory period ends to avoid steep interest charges. The Chase Freedom Flex, for example, boasts 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, followed by a 20.49% - 29.24% Variable APR.

How to Maximize Rewards for Online Shopping

Use an online shopping portal.

Whenever you shop online, it's worth taking a few extra seconds to go through an online shopping portal before making a purchase to see if there are opportunities to earn additional rewards. These bonuses will stack on top of the earnings from your rewards credit card.

Airlines and credit card issuers, along with a handful of hotel brands, operate shopping portals that award you bonus loyalty points in their respective programs when you click through from the portal to a retailer's website.

Once you've decided which shopping portal you want to use, make sure you're logged into your associated loyalty program account, then find the retailer in the portal and click through. This is an easy way to maximize credit card purchases that might otherwise only earn you 1 point per dollar or 1% cash back.

Take Advantage of Bonus Categories and Special Offers

Make sure you're maximizing any bonus categories your card offers, including ones that offer 5% back in rotating categories. These bonus points can add up in a hurry and leave you with a lot more rewards after the holidays have passed.

If you have an American Express card or a Chase card , you could save extra money on your online purchases. Many offers are targeted specifically to your account, and you need to make your purchase with the credit card tied to a given deal to earn the special bonus.

Amex Offers ** are limited-time deals available to cardholders that allow you to earn Amex Membership Rewards points when you make purchases with popular retailers. You can frequently get $10 to $50 back through Amex Offers when you spend money at specific online stores or stay in a participating brand of hotels within a limited timeframe.

Chase Offers work similarly. If you have a Chase card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, log into your account and see what offers are available. Click on any offers you want to use to add them to your account, then use the corresponding Chase card to complete your purchase. Currently, Chase Offers are limited to cash back — for instance, 5% back at McDonald's or Dell.

Best Credit Card for Online Shopping Frequently Asked Questions

The best credit cards for online shopping offer high rewards on online purchases. They may also offer exclusive discounts, free shipping, special financing options, or other similar benefits. Many cards also come with purchase protection, extended warranties, and other perks that enhance the online shopping experience.

The best cards for online shopping typically offer higher cash back or points on online purchases, making them ideal for frequent online shoppers. They may also offer additional online shopping benefits such as discounts at specific retailers, or no foreign transaction fees.

Potential downsides include annual fees for some cards and the need to use the card primarily for online shopping to maximize rewards. Additionally, some cards may have lower rewards rates for non-online purchases, making them less versatile for everyday spending.

To maximize benefits, use your credit card for all online shopping purchases to take full advantage of the higher rewards rates. Look for cards that offer additional perks like purchase protection and no foreign transaction fees. Pay off your balance in full each month to avoid interest charges.

Some of the top credit cards for online shopping in 2024 include the Prime Visa , Chase Freedom Flex® , Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card , Citi® Double Cash Card , and Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi . Each card offers unique features and benefits that cater to different online shopping needs and preferences, such as 5% cash back at Amazon or Costco.

The best credit cards for online shopping reward you for every dollar you spend, offer no-interest periods so you can pay off big purchases, and protect your purchases if stolen, damaged, or defective. All of the credit cards we reviewed in this guide provide at least one or more of these benefits.

It's better to use a credit card instead of a debit card when shopping online because credit cards aren't linked directly to your bank account. This makes fraud prevention significantly easier for banks to track on your behalf. But you'll need to watch out for overspending, since high credit limits can tempt you to purchase more than you can responsibly afford.

Credit card purchase protection will repair, replace, or reimburse your costs if an eligible product you buy is lost, stolen, broken, or defective within a certain period of time. Most cards and issuers have different criteria for qualification: You may be limited to a certain number of claims or dollar amount per year, or can only claim purchase protection on certain types of purchases.

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed the Best Credit Cards for Online Shopping

In this day and age, it's nearly impossible to buy something without using a digital form of payment. Business Insider's credit cards team evaluated some of the best credit cards for online shopping to help you decide which one is the best fit for your wallet. Some of the criteria we considered include:

Financial protection — Does this credit card protect your money in the event of fraudulent purchases? Will you be reimbursed for damaged purchases and lost or stolen products?

Rewards — If you're going to spend some money, you might as well be rewarded for it. Does this card offer you some return on your expenditures, whether in the form of cash back or travel rewards?

Read more about how we rate credit cards at Business Insider.

Small business finances
Credit cards
Points and miles travel
Travel insurance
Real estate investing

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please click here.

Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards .

Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.

**Enrollment required.

***Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Refer to your Guide to Benefits for more details. Travel Accident Insurance is not guaranteed, it depends on the level of benefits you get at application.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Main content

Traditional vs. Online Shopping Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Introduction

Shopping constitutes a compulsory function for humans in all walks of life. For a majority of people, shopping is an activity that has transcended from being merely a necessity to one that has become a favorite pastime that brings happiness, recreation, and ‘quality time with friends and members of the family. There are basically 3 kinds of shopping where we buy things we require, things we convince ourselves we require, and things we look at (window shopping) just for pleasure. In the modern world of today, it is possible to indulge in all 3 kinds of shopping by utilizing 2 methods: Traditional shopping and ‘Online’ shopping.

Traditional shopping involves shoppers physically entering a brick-and-mortar store or shopping mall to select items of their choice, pay for them in cash or by credit card, and either take delivery personally or have them delivered to their homes by the retailer. ‘Online shopping is a relatively new method of shopping that involves the shopper sitting in front of a Personal Computer at any location (it could be at home, in the office, in friends’ apartments or in internet cafes), browsing through different categories of products at selected websites either alone or with the assistance of family members and/or friends, choosing items, paying for the purchases by credit card or by electronically transferring money from a bank account (from personal experience, I have noticed there is usually no other payment option).

The selected goods are delivered within a period ranging from a day to a week or even longer. In almost all cases, due to the fact that while selecting an item its availability is also clearly mentioned, the entire selection is delivered; if for some unforeseen reason some items are not delivered, then the value of those items is refunded to the customer by the ‘Online’ seller.

Traditional and ‘Online’ shopping are similar in two ways. Firstly, both forms of shopping follow the general concept of commerce; in both cases, there is a buyer and a seller, both of whom share a specific understanding of how the commercial transaction is expected to unfold, run its course and reach its satisfactory conclusion. Secondly, the prominent method of payment in both forms of shopping is credit card payment; although traditional shoppers can opt for check or cash payment, and although ‘Online’ shoppers can opt for electronic transfer of funds from their bank accounts, credit card purchases are preferred in both cases.

Traditional and ‘Online’ shopping is different in several ways. In one group of differences, Traditional shopping holds ‘absolute’ superiority: Firstly, shoppers experience the physical thrill of shopping. Shopping is commonly seen as a way of unwinding after a hard day’s work, or (especially in the case of housewives), escaping from the monotonous routine of everyday life (cooking, cleaning, and looking after the kids). Then there is festival shopping, which usually involves the entire family shopping for decorations and gifts for such occasions as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving (personally, I have several fond memories of this).

Secondly, Traditional shoppers are brought face-to-face with an item that they can touch, feel and examine at close proximity – this goes a long way towards making up their mind to buy it. Thirdly, Traditional shoppers are able to talk with the salespersons or merchants of the store or mall upfront, and freely seek clarification or additional information about products that interest them. Fourthly, Traditional shoppers are able to bargain and obtain a better price for their purchases.

Although people in the United States do not usually engage in energetic bargaining, there are people of several other international cultures (such as Italians, Greeks, and Indians), to whom bargaining forms the essence of the shopping experience, and without which they would end up with the uncomfortable feeling of being cheated. Fifthly, Traditional shoppers are able to judge the merchant’s reputation (and by association, the products being sold in that store) by interacting with other customers. Sixthly, Traditional shoppers are able to take home their purchases immediately, or at the most have them delivered to their homes on the same or the next day.

They, therefore, save time as do not have to wait for days or weeks to receive their purchases as is the usual case in ‘Online’ shopping (there is also the distinct possibility of some items not being ultimately delivered due to some reason such as shortages caused due to improper inventory management). Lastly, almost everyone is well aware that today’s world is blemished by an increasing number of cybercrimes.

These have grown at an alarming rate with increasingly ingenious methods being adopted by computer-savvy criminals. A very large number of innocent people have been, and are being fleeced of their hard-earned money over the Internet – their only crime being that they had to give their personal and bank details while shopping online. On the other hand, Traditional shoppers do not need to give their names, address, and (most importantly) bank account information which are all ‘must-do’s in the case of ‘Online’ shopping.

In the second group of differences, ‘Online’ shopping holds the ‘absolute’ superiority. The first difference involves selection. ‘Online shoppers can browse through a wide selection of products from different retailers and place a single order involving products from different retailers, rather than otherwise embark on the tedious exercise of visiting several stores or malls physically to pick up a few items here and a few items there.

Secondly, ‘Online’ shoppers are benefited by a significant reduction in prices as ‘Online’ sellers have vastly reduced overheads to contend with (especially store/mall rent/maintenance and salaries/perks for salespersons) and are able to comfortably pass on a sizeable part of this benefit to customers in the form of reduced prices for the products sold. Lastly, ‘Online’ shoppers have the luxury of doing their shopping at leisure from the comfort of their home, without having to drive to far-away shopping destinations and being traumatized by rash drivers and difficult car parking situations.

In the third group of differences, both types of shopping score nearly equal points. The first difference involves the time element. In Traditional shopping, customers save time as don’t have to wait for days or weeks to receive their purchases. ‘Online’ shoppers choose the time and place to shop, thus saving valuable time and problems associated with traveling to and from the store.

Secondly, while admitting that the ‘sight and touch’ factor is important, ‘Online’ shoppers find it is irrelevant in the case of items like computers, consumer electronic items, cosmetics, perfumes, and jewelry, where ‘Online’ specifications are clear-cut, very detailed and imminently satisfactory. Lastly, while Traditional shoppers can get clarification and further information about a product from the salesperson or merchant, ‘Online’ shoppers have access to clarifying the information in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and ‘Online’ customer service for the products they intend to purchase.

From a fair and impartial judgment of both cases, it is my contention that Traditional shopping is definitely better than ‘Online’ shopping simply because the comparative number and weight of its advantages vis-à-vis ‘Online shopping is much more significant as compared to ‘Online’ shopping own unique advantages. As a result, while agreeing that ‘Online’ shopping continues to grow in the United States, it will not overtake Traditional shopping mainly because of the two greatest ‘arrows in the quiver’ of the latter – Firstly, it involves the formidably unique ‘sight and touches’ advantage that Traditional shoppers enjoy.

And secondly, it gives people an opportunity to mingle with others, interact with acquaintances, friends, and relatives and spend ‘quality time with them – in our increasingly busy and modern world of today comprising people increasingly cocooned in their own lives and problems, this pleasurable human interaction afforded by Traditional shopping is literally priceless.

Community Development: Malls vs Street Front Shopping
1950’s Consumerism and Car Culture
Khalidiyah Mall: SWOT Analysis
Marketing Strategy for a Shopping Mall
Shopping: Rapture or Torture?
McDonald's: Public Space Interpretation
Consumer Behavior: Factors Influencing Consumption
Geographic Information System Report Response
Analysis of Consumer Behavior Regarding Peapod and the Online Grocery Shopping
Consumer Behavior Analysis in Companies J.Crew, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, October 8). Traditional vs. Online Shopping. https://ivypanda.com/essays/traditional-vs-online-shopping/

"Traditional vs. Online Shopping." IvyPanda , 8 Oct. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/traditional-vs-online-shopping/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Traditional vs. Online Shopping'. 8 October.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Traditional vs. Online Shopping." October 8, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/traditional-vs-online-shopping/.

1. IvyPanda . "Traditional vs. Online Shopping." October 8, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/traditional-vs-online-shopping/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Traditional vs. Online Shopping." October 8, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/traditional-vs-online-shopping/.

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Is A.I. the Death of I.P.?

A paper collage of a match lighting a physical copyright symbol.

Intellectual property accounts for some or all of the wealth of at least half of the world’s fifty richest people, and it has been estimated to account for fifty-two per cent of the value of U.S. merchandise exports. I.P. is the new oil. Nations sitting on a lot of it are making money selling it to nations that have relatively little. It’s therefore in a country’s interest to protect the intellectual property of its businesses.

But every right is also a prohibition. My right of ownership of some piece of intellectual property bars everyone else from using that property without my consent. I.P. rights have an economic value but a social cost. Is that cost too high?

I.P. ownership comes in several legal varieties: copyrights, patents, design rights, publicity rights, and trademarks. And it’s everywhere you look. United Parcel Service has a trademark on the shade of brown it paints its delivery trucks. If you paint your delivery trucks the same color, UPS can get a court to make you repaint them. Coca-Cola owns the design rights to the Coke bottle: same deal. Some models of the Apple Watch were taken off the market this past Christmas after the United States International Trade Commission determined that Apple had violated the patent rights of a medical-device firm called Masimo. (A court subsequently paused the ban.)

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In 2021, the N.C.A.A. began allowing college athletes to market their name, image, and likeness (N.I.L., the three elements of the right of publicity). Caitlin Clark, the University of Iowa women’s-basketball star, has an N.I.L. valued at around eight hundred thousand dollars a year. If you think there might conceivably be a gender gap here: LeBron James’s son Bronny, who played his first collegiate game on December 10th and scored four points in a losing effort, has an N.I.L. currently valued at $5.9 million.

Bob Dylan , Neil Young , and Stevie Nicks are among a number of artists who have recently sold the rights to some or all of their songs. Virtually every song that Bruce Springsteen has ever written is now owned by Sony, which is reported to have paid five hundred and fifty million dollars for the catalogue. Because the copyright clock does not start ticking until the demise of the creator, Sony could own those rights until past the end of the century. The longer the Boss lives, the richer Sony gets.

David Bellos and Alexandre Montagu use the story of Sony’s big Springsteen buy to lead off their lively, opinionated, and ultra-timely book, “ Who Owns This Sentence? A History of Copyrights and Wrongs ” (Norton), because it epitomizes the trend that led them to write it. The rights to a vast amount of created material—music, movies, books, art, games, computer software, scholarly articles, just about any cultural product people will pay to consume—are increasingly owned by a small number of large corporations and are not due to expire for a long time.

So what? There is little danger that Sony will keep Bruce Springsteen’s songs locked up. On the contrary, it is likely that, from now until 2100 or so, it will be impossible to escape the sound of Springsteen’s voice, because Sony needs to find lots of ways to recoup its investment. Sony enjoys no benefit from sitting on its property, and the music costs it almost nothing to disseminate. The company just needs someone to deposit the checks.

Sony will collect many of those checks from people like you and me. Our contribution will come out of things like the subscription and downloading fees we pay our music-streaming services. Considering the amount of music those services give us access to, a lifetime of Springsteen is costing us pennies. But there are some six hundred and sixteen million subscribers to music-streaming services out there—the number has more than doubled in the past four years, which is why all these catalogue sales are happening now—so the math looks good for Sony.

There are other lucrative revenue streams. Car manufacturers have been trying to buy a license to use “Born to Run” in their commercials almost since the song was released, in 1975. Unless Springsteen, who has so far largely avoided endorsements, attached conditions to the sale, which seems unlikely given the dollars on the table, their day has probably arrived.

Bellos, a comparative-literature professor at Princeton, and Montagu, an intellectual-property lawyer, find this kind of rent-seeking objectionable. They complain that corporate copyright owners “strut the world stage as the new barons of the twenty-first century,” and they call copyright “the biggest money machine the world has seen.” They point out that, at a time when corporate ownership of copyrights has boomed, the income of authors, apart from a few superstars, has been falling. They think that I.P. law is not a set of rules protecting individual rights so much as a regulatory instrument for business.

But what Bellos and Montagu are ultimately distressed about isn’t that businesses like Sony are sucking in large sums for the right to play music they didn’t create, or that you and I have to pay to listen to it. We always had to pay to listen to it. The problem, as they see it, is that corporate control of cultural capital robs the commons.

In an important sense, when Bruce Springsteen releases a song or Jorie Graham publishes a poem, it belongs to all the world. Musical compositions, poems, works of art, books, TikTok videos—every type of cultural product is a public good. Our species draws upon them for pleasure, for edification, for inspiration and motivation, and sometimes for a cheesy simulacrum of such things. Because of the digital revolution, more of these goods are available to more people at less cost than ever. And we can do almost anything we like with them. We can listen to the songs or read the poems as often as we want, and they can excite us to create songs and poems of our own. What we cannot do, for a finite period of time, is put copies of those things on the market.

That period is set by Congress, under a power enumerated in Article I of the Constitution: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” The first federal copyright act, passed in 1790, set the term of copyright at fourteen years from the date when a work was submitted for registration, renewable for another fourteen years.

You no longer have to register a work to hold its copyright. And the duration of that copyright has been extended several times. Since 1978, it has been seventy years from the death of the creator. For “corporate authors”—that is, companies that pay employees to make stuff (known as “work for hire”)—it is now ninety-five years from the date of publication or a hundred and twenty years from the date of creation, whichever is shorter. Mickey Mouse, who was first “published” in 1928, entered the public domain at the beginning of this year—but only in his 1928 form. Updated Mickeys are still protected. In short, by the time a work created today enters the public domain, most of us will be dead. Many of us will be very dead.

“What a coincidence—Im an Aries who doesnt want to die alone too.”

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For you (probably) and me (definitely), the rights to our creations are not worth much money to anyone but ourselves. But, if you are the guy who wrote “Born to Run,” it is prudent to assign your rights to an entity that can pay you while you are alive some considerable portion of what your songs will be worth long after you are not. Bellos and Montagu argue that copyright law, originally enacted in Britain in the eighteenth century to protect publishers (and, to some extent, writers) from pirates, has evolved into a protection for corporate colossi with global reach. The law today treats companies as “authors,” and classifies things like the source code of software as “literary works,” giving software a much longer period of protection than it would have if it were classified only as an invention and eligible for a patent (now good for twenty years, with some exceptions).

Bellos and Montagu agree with many critics of contemporary copyright law that the current term of copyright is absurd. Often, we are locking away indefinitely stuff whose rights are owned by someone—an heir, an estate, some company that bought them along with other assets in a package—but no one knows who. For fear of a lawsuit, that material remains in a vault. A lot of video footage falls into this category, as do countless books that are out of print and music that can no longer be purchased in any format (much of Motown , for instance). There is no “use it or lose it” provision in copyright law.

Rights-owning heirs can be quite controlling, too. Martin Luther King, Jr. ,’s family, along with EMI Music Publishing, owns the rights to film and audio recordings of the “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1996, the King family sued CBS for using portions of the speech without permission—even though it was CBS that made the film for which King’s heirs were charging a licensing fee. “It has to do with the principle that if you make a dollar, I should make a dime” is how King’s son Dexter explained the thinking. An initial verdict for CBS was overturned on appeal, and the Kings settled for a cash payment (which evidently took the form of a contribution to the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change and thus was tax deductible). CBS can afford the litigation. The average person cannot.

Corporations themselves can squeeze you shamelessly. Bellos and Montagu tell the story of a documentary filmmaker who shot a scene in which a group of workers were sitting around playing a board game with a television set on in the background. The TV happened to be showing “The Simpsons,” and the filmmaker applied for permission to use the four seconds of the “Simpsons” episode that was visible in the shot. The studio wanted ten thousand dollars.

A particularly notorious “background” lawsuit was the “Dancing Baby” case. At issue was a twenty-nine-second YouTube video a mother had taken of her thirteen-month-old bouncing up and down to a Prince song, which is indistinctly audible for approximately twenty seconds. In 2007, Prince’s label alleged copyright infringement and forced YouTube to take down the video. The case ended up in court. The baby’s mother, Stephanie Lenz, prevailed in a lawsuit, but the litigation took a decade. That’s why an author who wants to reproduce a photograph in a book would, if the photograph includes a painting in the background, even a fragment, be well advised to get permission not just from the photograph’s rights holder but from the painting’s.

What makes this ridiculous is that most of the photographs you see in books are on the Web, where they can be viewed by billions of people for nothing. But authors have to pay a fee, often hundreds of dollars for a single image, to reproduce them in a work that will be read by, with luck, ten or twenty thousand people. The major rent seeker here is Getty Images, which, after buying up most of its rivals, now controls more than four hundred and seventy-seven million “assets”—stock images, editorial photography, video, and music—and is worth five billion dollars. If you want to reprint a news photograph, chances are that Getty controls the rights.

Most litigation over copyright, like Lenz’s suit, involves a term that has eluded precise judicial definition: fair use. Fair use is where the commons enters the picture. When Ezra Pound said “Make It New,” he meant that putting old expressions to new uses is how civilizations evolve. The higher the firewall protecting the old expressions, the less dynamic the culture has a chance to be.

As Bellos and Montagu repeatedly point out, all new creations derive from existing creations. In our head when we write a poem or make a movie are all the poems we have read or movies we have seen. Philosophers build on the work of prior philosophers; historians rely on other historians. The same principle applies to TikTok videos . The same principle applies, really, to life. Living is a group effort.

The no man’s land between acceptable borrowing and penalizable theft is therefore where most copyright wars are waged. One thing that makes borrowing legal is a finding that the use of the original material is “transformative,” but that term does not appear in any statute. It’s a judge-made standard and plainly subjective. Fair-use litigation can make your head spin, not just because the claims of infringement often seem far-fetched—where is the damage to the rights holder, exactly?—but because the outcomes are unpredictable. And unpredictability is bad for business.

The publisher of “ The Wind Done Gone ,” a 2001 retelling, by Alice Randall, of Margaret Mitchell’s “ Gone with the Wind ” from the perspective of a Black character, was sued for infringement by the owner of the Mitchell estate. The parties reached a settlement when Randall’s publisher, Houghton Mifflin, agreed to make a contribution to Morehouse College (a peculiar outcome, as though the estate of the author of “Gone with the Wind” were somehow the party that stood for improving the life chances of Black Americans). Then there’s the case of Demetrious Polychron, a Tolkien fan who was recently barred from distributing his sequel to “ The Lord of the Rings ,” titled “The Fellowship of the King.” Polychron had approached the Tolkien estate for permission and had been turned down, whereupon he self-published his book anyway, as the estate learned when it turned up for sale on Amazon.

In Randall’s case, Houghton Mifflin argued that the new novel represented a transformative use of Mitchell’s material because it told the story from a new perspective. It was plainly not written in the spirit of the original. In Polychron’s, the sequel was purposely faithful to the original. He called it “picture-perfect,” and it was clearly intended to be read as though Tolkien had written it himself. Polychron also brought his troubles on himself by first suing the Tolkien estate and Amazon for stealing from his book for the Amazon series “ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power .” The suit was deemed “frivolous and unreasonably filed,” and it invited the successful countersuit.

Pop art, from Andy Warhol to Jeff Koons , is a lively arena for fair-use litigation, since the art deals explicitly with appropriated images. Very little is obviously “transformed.” Last spring, in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, the Supreme Court ruled that the foundation could not license the use of a Warhol work—featuring Prince, as it happens—that was silk-screened from a photograph by Lynn Goldsmith, a professional photographer.

The Court’s opinion, by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, largely restricted itself to the question of who had the right to license the image for use as a magazine illustration. It did not address the potentially explosive art-market question of whether Warhol’s Prince silk screens themselves (there are fourteen, plus two pencil drawings) are covered by fair use. Following his “Campbell’s Soup Cans” exhibition, in 1962, much of Warhol’s art reproduced images and designs made by other people. Are those works “transformative” because they’re Warhols? If I did the same thing, could I claim fair use?

The real circus act in copyright law, currently, is pop music. Pop is a highly formulaic art, and some amount of copying is pretty much inevitable. Most twelve-bar blues music is based on the same three chords. Much of jazz is built from the chord progression known as “rhythm changes.” Folk has a certain sound; rock has a certain sound; country has a certain sound. These sounds are created from a vocal and instrumental palette specific to each genre, and each genre has its own themes, tropes, imagery.

This is because although originality has high value in the fine arts, imitation—or, more precisely, imitation with a difference—has high value in entertainment media. People like the music they already like. Movies, too. If the first “Die Hard” is a hit, there is a sequel—in fact, four sequels. It’s the “Send more Chuck Berry” syndrome, the theory behind Pandora. Listeners want songs that sound like songs they enjoy, and a hit song spawns soundalikes seeking to cash in on what people are buying.

The insane part of all this is that I can record a cover—that is, a copy—of “Born to Run” without any permission at all. The legal requirement is only that I notify the rights holder and pay a royalty set by statute, which is currently about twelve cents per sale for a three-minute song. Unsurprisingly, a huge portion of the pop repertoire therefore is covers. There are at least fifty covers of “Born to Run,” including one by the London Symphony Orchestra. There are more than fifteen hundred Bob Dylan covers. There were six versions of “Try a Little Tenderness” before Otis Redding made his immortal 1966 recording with Booker T. & the M.G.s, a rendition without which the lives of many of us would be poorer.

But if I write a song that simply shares a few musical elements with “Born to Run”—“substantial similarity” is the legal standard—I could be in trouble. The similarity does not have to be deliberate. George Harrison was found liable for “subconscious” infringement when he used chords from the Chiffons’ hit “He’s So Fine,” from 1963, in his 1970 song “My Sweet Lord,” and had to pay five hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars. Harrison knew that “this combination of sounds would work,” the judge wrote, because it had already worked. Yes, that seems to be the way the music business operates.

To be found liable for subconscious infringement, you do at least have to have heard the song you’re accused of stealing from. In 1983, a jury found that the Bee Gees had borrowed illegally from a song by Roland Selle called “Let It End” when they wrote “How Deep Is Your Love,” but the verdict was thrown out on appeal because the plaintiff had not established that the Bee Gees could have heard his song, which he had distributed as a demo. The initial finding of “substantial similarity” was purely serendipitous.

In 2015, a jury decided that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had copied Marvin Gaye ’s “Got to Give It Up” in their hit “Blurred Lines.” Although the question of whether there were specific musical elements in common was contested, the jury evidently thought that they had a similar “feel.” Thicke and Williams had to pay the Gaye family $5.3 million plus fifty per cent of future revenues.

The finding shocked a lot of people in the legal and music worlds, and a backlash against the “Blurred Lines” verdict seems to have made it a little harder for music infringement claims to stick. The group Spirit had a plausible case that Led Zeppelin had borrowed the arpeggiated chords that open “Stairway to Heaven” from Spirit’s “Taurus”: the chords are not completely identical but they do sound a lot alike, and Led Zeppelin used to open for Spirit. Still, in 2016, a California jury sided with Led Zeppelin, in a verdict that survived appeal.

And, last spring, the singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was found not liable for copying another Gaye song , “Let’s Get It On.” During the trial, Sheeran brought his guitar with him to the witness stand and demonstrated to the jury that the four-chord progression in his song was common in pop music. Sheeran is a charming fellow, and the jury was duly swayed. “I am unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all,” he said after the trial. But the legal uncertainty is an incentive to sue, since settlement dollars can be significant. (If you lose, though, the Copyright Act gives the court the discretion to make you pay the defendant’s attorney fees.)

The uncertainty exists because juries differ, but also because the goalposts move. The different results in the “Blurred Lines” and the “Stairway to Heaven” lawsuits had partly to do with something called the “inverse ratio” rule, a judge-made rule invented to establish the degree of similarity required for legal liability. Inverse ratio dictates that the more access the defendant had to the original work, the lower the bar for establishing substantial similarity. Which makes little sense. The court—the Ninth Circuit, where many entertainment-industry cases end up—applied the rule in the former case and then turned around and declared it void in the latter.

Judicial competence is also an issue. There is a special court for patent and trademark claims, which sits in Washington, D.C. But judges assigned in copyright cases generally know little about the fields in which fair-use concerns arise. This is why the matter of what’s “transformative” is such a judicial gray area. In a rather heated dissent in the Warhol case, Elena Kagan complained that Justice Sotomayor and the rest of the majority had no understanding of art. To know why a Warhol silk screen counts as transformative, or to give musical definition to a song’s “feel,” you need a kind of expertise that most judges—most people—don’t have.

Competence is also likely to be a factor in cases arising on the next frontier in I.P., artificial intelligence. Bellos and Montagu end their book with the intriguing suggestion that A.I. may be the technology that brings the whole legal structure of copyright down.

From a historical perspective, generative A.I. is just the latest in a line of innovations that have put pressure on copyright law. These include photography, which was not declared copyrightable until the second half of the nineteenth century; radio, which triggered a war between the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ( ASCAP ), which licenses performance rights for music, and the broadcast companies over whether on-air play of a song requires payment of a royalty ( ASCAP won); and photocopying. Is a Xerox copy of an article or a book illegal under the terms of copyright law? How about a six-line poem? It is, after all, a copy, even if it was not made with a printing press.

The Internet spawned all kinds of methods for accessing copyrighted material and circumventing copyright claims. Napster, launched in 1999, is the landmark example. Its peer-to-peer file-sharing system was determined to be piracy, but Napster still revolutionized the music industry by moving it into the streaming business. Performance revenue aside, music income now comes primarily not from CD sales but from licensing deals. Spotify is a direct descendant of the Napster case.

“My entire life flashed before my eyes and I was folding laundry half the time.”

On the other hand, in Authors Guild v. Google, decided in 2015, courts upheld the legality of Google Books, even though it is a Web site that was created by scanning tens of millions of books without permission from the copyright holders. That case didn’t even go to trial. Google won in summary judgment under the principle of fair use, and an appeals court held that Google Books’ copying had a “highly convincing transformative purpose” and did not constitute copyright infringement. The outcome portends trouble for parties with copyright cases against companies that use A.I.

Still, no one knows how courts will apply the current statutory authority—the Copyright Act of 1976 and subsequent amendments—to generative A.I. , a technology whose capacities were barely contemplated in 1976. Apps like ChatGPT are large language models (L.L.M.s), meaning that they have “learned” by being “trained” on enormous amounts of digital information. What the models are “learning” are not even sentences but “tokens,” which are often pieces of words. When functioning properly, a model predicts, based on a statistical calculation, what token comes next.

This has been mocked as simply an advanced form of autofill. But, when I write a sentence, I, too, am trying to guess the best next word. It just doesn’t feel especially “auto.” One big difference is that, since I fancy myself a writer, I am trying to avoid , wherever possible, the statistically most common solution.

It is thought that a significant percentage of the token sequences that the L.L.M.s have trained on come from the Web sites of news organizations, whose material is copyrighted. The models are also believed to train on text in so-called shadow libraries, like Library Genesis and Z-Library, which include millions of pages of copyrighted material. A key legal question is whether the training process has involved copying this text and, if so, whether any or all of this process is protected by fair use.

I.P. experts completely disagree about what the answer should be. There are multiple legal challenges under way, which will probably result in cases argued in different venues producing inconsistent results. Ideally, this is an area where Congress, under its Article I power, would decide on the rules, but Congress these days is not exactly a well-oiled legislative machine.

Courts have already ruled that search engines, like Google and Bing, which scour enormous amounts of copyrighted material on the Web, are protected by fair use, because the thumbnail images and text snippets they display when you conduct a search qualify as “transformative.” Are generative-A.I. systems so different from search software in this respect?

The comedian and memoirist Sarah Silverman and two other writers have sued the tech companies Meta and OpenAI for copyright infringement. (Most of the suit was dismissed by a federal judge last November.) John Grisham and Jodi Picoult are part of a separate writers’ lawsuit, and there are others. It’s not obvious what sort of relief writers can ask for. Silverman’s memoir is protected against piracy by copyright. Someone else can’t print and sell a substantially similar work. But, in an L.L.M., her text is a drop in an ocean of digital data. There is no reason to think that well-known, best-selling writers such as Grisham and Picoult are somehow losing more to L.L.M.s than an equally prolific author of self-published guides to home repair is. Since A.I. technologies feed on the entire online universe of words and images, everyone, even if their creative activities are limited to taking selfies or posting tuna-casserole recipes, could sue. To an L.L.M., it’s tokens all the way down.

But the lawsuits keep on coming. Last winter, Getty Images sued Stability AI for what it called “brazen theft and freeriding” on a “staggering scale.” And, in December, the Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming that those companies are liable for “billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages” for their use of the Times ’ archives.

The Times claims, for example, that Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, which uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT, provided results that substantially copied verbatim from the paper’s Wirecutter content, which makes money when readers use its links to sites where they can purchase recommended goods. (In effect, Bing visited the Wirecutter pages and then got the ChatGPT engine to paraphrase them closely.) The links were not included in Bing’s version, and so the Times lost money.

Some of these legal challenges can be met by licensing agreements, which is how music companies responded to the Napster episode. The Associated Press has agreed to license the use of its reporting to ChatGPT, and additional licensing deals have been consummated or are in the works. Other kinds of guardrails around the use of A.I. in the workplace can be erected through collective bargaining, as happened this fall after the Writers Guild of America, which represents more than eleven thousand screenwriters, and the Screen Actors Guild went on strike. Might similar guardrails be used to protect—oh, I don’t know—writers for weekly magazines?

Another question is whether works created by A.I. are themselves copyrightable. Last August, a federal court ruled that machine-made works are not copyrightable—in the court’s words, that “human authorship is a bedrock requirement of copyright.” But that conclusion is likely to be tested soon. After all, a camera is a machine. Why is it that, if I bring my Leica to a back-yard fireworks display, my photograph is eligible for copyright protection, but if I prompt Dall-E 3, an OpenAI service, to make me a photograph of fireworks, the image it produces might not be?

People loved the A.I.-generated version of Johnny Cash singing a Taylor Swift song, which was posted online last year by a person in Texas named Dustin Ballard. But who owns it? Could Taylor Swift sue? Probably not, since it’s a cover. Does the Cash estate have an ownership claim? Not necessarily, since you can’t copyright a style or a voice. Dustin Ballard? He neither composed nor performed the song. No one? Does it belong to all the world?

Some people may say that A.I. is robbing the commons. But A.I. is only doing what I do when I write a poem. It is reviewing all the poems it has encountered and using them to make something new. A.I. just “remembers” far more poems than I can, and it makes new poems a lot faster than I ever could. I don’t need permission to read those older poems. Why should ChatGPT? Are we penalizing a chatbot for doing what all human beings do just because it does so more efficiently? If the results are banal, so are most poems. God knows mine are.

Whatever happens, the existential threats of A.I. will not be addressed by copyright law. What we’re looking at right now is a struggle over money. Licensing agreements, copyright protections, employment contracts—it’s all going to result in a fantastically complex regulatory regime in which the legal fiction of information “ownership” gives some parties a bigger piece of the action than other parties. Life in an A.I. world will be very good for lawyers. Unless, of course, they are replaced with machines. ♦

An earlier version of this article misstated the royalty rate for a three-minute cover song.

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Who is JD Vance? What to know about Donald Trump's VP pick

Former President Donald Trump tapped JD Vance to be his running mate at the Republican National Convention , catapulting the Ohio GOP senator even more into the national spotlight.

Here’s what you need to know about Vance.

More: Trump made MAGA happen. JD Vance represents those who will inherit it

Where is JD Vance from?

Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio. He described a childhood consumed by poverty and abuse in his best-selling 2016 memoir , "Hillbilly Elegy." Vance's mother struggled with drug addiction, so he spent many of his formative years with his grandmother – known to him as Mamaw.

How old is JD Vance?

Vance is 39. If elected, he would be the youngest vice president since Richard Nixon. His birthday is Aug. 2, 1984.

Did JD Vance serve in the military?

Vance joined the Marines Corps after high school and served as a public affairs marine in Iraq.

Is JD Vance married?

Vance is married to Usha Chilukuri Vance. She had been working as a litigator at Munger, Tolles & Olson, but a spokesperson said she chose to leave the firm in the wake of her husband’s vice presidential nomination.

The couple has three young children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.

Where does JD Vance live?

Vance and his family live in the East Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati. The senator also bought a $1.5 million home in Alexandria, Virginia, last year, Politico reported .

How long has JD Vance been in politics?

Vance was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 after defeating former Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan for an open seat in Ohio.

What’s the history between Vance and Trump?

Vance openly criticized Trump in 2016 as pundits used his memoir to explain the former president's popularity with white, rural voters. He previously suggested Trump could be "America’s Hitler," called him noxious and compared him to an opioid.

But Vance changed his tune as he geared up for his 2022 Senate run, deleting controversial tweets and crediting Trump for the work he did in office. He secured Trump's endorsement in a chaotic Republican Senate primary and is now one of the former president's most loyal allies.

JD Vance didn't vote for Donald Trump in 2016

In one NPR interview , he joked that he would rather write his dog on the ballot than vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton.

"I think that I'm going to vote third party because I can't stomach Trump," the "Hillbilly Elegy" author said at the time. "I think that he's noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place."

What are Vance's policy positions?

Vance personifies what's known as the New Right , a populist conservatism that rejects many traditional Republican views. He supports tariffs on trade and opposes U.S. intervention in foreign conflicts, particularly the war between Russia and Ukraine. He's also spoken out against potential cuts to Social Security.

Some of Vance's work in the Senate has been bipartisan. He introduced a rail safety bill with Sen. Sherrod Brown after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. He also worked with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on legislation to hold executives accountable for failed banks.

At the same time, many of his other bills reflect conservative views. For example, Vance introduced legislation to ban gender-affirming care for minors and a bill to eliminate diversity programs in the federal government.

Where does JD Vance stand on abortion?

Vance opposes abortion and often says the government should find ways to encourage people to have children.

Like other Republicans, however, Vance changed how he discusses the issue after Ohio and other states voted in favor of abortion access last year. In a December CNN interview , he said Republicans must "accept that people do not want blanket abortion bans."

More recently, he told Meet the Press that he supports access to the abortion drug mifepristone.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Home — Essay Samples — Business — Online Shopping — A Comparison and Contrast Between Shopping Online and Traditional Shopping

A Comparison and Contrast Between Shopping Online and Traditional Shopping

Categories: Online Shopping Shopping Mall

About this sample

Words: 496 |

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 496 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Convenience, social interaction, online shopping.

Ability to shop anytime and anywhere: Online shopping allows consumers to make purchases at any time of the day from the comfort of their own homes.
Saving time and effort: With online shopping, consumers can avoid the hassle of traveling to physical stores and waiting in long lines.
Access to a wide range of products and stores: Online shopping provides access to a variety of products and stores that may not be available in a local area.

Traditional Shopping

A physical shopping experience: Traditional shopping allows consumers to physically see and touch products before making a purchase.
Immediate product availability: Consumers can immediately obtain the products they purchase without having to wait for shipping.
Opportunity for tactile experience: Traditional shopping allows consumers to try on clothing and test out products before making a purchase.
Unlimited product options: Online shopping provides consumers with an almost limitless variety of products to choose from.
Access to international stores: Consumers can access products from international stores without having to travel to those countries.
Ability to compare prices and reviews easily: Online platforms allow consumers to compare prices and read reviews from other buyers before making a purchase.
Limited product options based on local availability: Traditional shopping limits consumers to products that are available in local stores.
Limited access to exclusive deals or discounts: Traditional shopping may not provide access to the same exclusive deals and discounts that online platforms offer.
Lack of easy comparison for prices and reviews: Consumers may find it more difficult to compare prices and read reviews for products in traditional stores.
Shopping alone without any social interaction: Online shopping lacks the social aspect of traditional shopping, as it is typically done alone.
Limited personal assistance or advice: Consumers may have limited access to personal assistance or advice when shopping online.
Possibility of anonymous shopping: Online shopping allows consumers to remain anonymous and not engage with others during the shopping process.
Opportunities for personal interaction with sales associates: Traditional shopping provides consumers with the opportunity to interact with sales associates and receive personalized assistance.
Social engagement with fellow shoppers: Consumers can socialize with other shoppers and seek their opinions or advice when shopping in physical stores.
Ability to obtain immediate assistance and personalized advice: Traditional shopping allows for immediate assistance and personalized advice from sales associates.

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Essay on Online Shopping 1000+ Words

Convenience at Your Fingertips

A Vast Selection of Products

Competitive Prices and Discounts

Access to Customer Reviews

Convenient Payment Options

Doorstep Delivery

Avoiding Impulse Buying

Accessibility for All

Impact on Traditional Retail

Environmental Benefits

Conclusion of Essay on Online Shopping

Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

100 Words Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Convenience

Wide Variety

Price Comparisons

250 Words Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Cost Savings

Wide Product Range

500 Words Essay on Benefits of Online Shopping

Wide Range of Choices

Cost-Effective and Time-Saving

Easy Comparison of Products and Prices

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Essay on Online Shopping

The Advent and Growth of Online Shopping

Benefits of Online Shopping

Wide Range of Products

Cost Savings

Ease of Information

Challenges of Online Shopping

Cybersecurity Concerns

Lack of Physical Verification

Dependence on Technology

Environmental Impact

The Future of Online Shopping

Online Shopping Essay

What Does Online Shopping Mean?

Benefits of Online Shopping

Disadvantages of Online Shopping

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