Christine Cerrato

My Slow Embrace with Online Shopping

I was a seriously late bloomer when it came to online shopping. Even before being adopted by the masses I had a nagging hesitancy that began with an image of imaginary people inside my computer waiting to steal my information. Once I comfortably convinced myself it was safe I made my first online purchase which resulted in my first online return. My distain for doing things more than once helped further wain my enthusiasm for online shopping - not to mention the added benefits of printing return labels, packing boxes and visits to the post office. I happily returned to brick and mortar stores where I could touch, feel and thoroughly evaluate items before purchasing, once. Then a pandemic hit, my toilet paper ran out I was literally forced to reconsider the benefits of online shopping. Slowly but surely and one purchase at a time I became more comfortable shopping online and ultimately came to appreciate the conveniences. I am proud to say that I have come full circle within one year. Although I only order from large, well known websites and the list of things I will not order online is long, I can honestly say I am comfortable shopping online. Given my complicated history with online shopping the number of times social media has been powerful enough to sway my behavior or spark a purchase for something I did not need has been extremely rare.