Punita Nagar-Vaidya
There is a huge increase in online shopping when the festival season is going on. According to a survey, there has been a good increase in the number of online purchases in the last few months. According to a report, sales of fashion, grocery, beauty and personal care items have seen a two- to four-fold increase. Smart televisions, air fryers, luggage, security cameras, mattresses, water purifiers, laptops, air conditioners, water heaters, washing machines, ghee and dry fruits are other categories that consumers have shown interest in purchasing. If we look at the figures, till the first week of November in the online market place Rs. 54,500 crore was recorded in sales. According to the data, the e-commerce platform saw a 26 percent increase in the first week compared to the same period of 2023. It is noteworthy that the online shopping craze in India is increasing with each passing year. This trend has now raised the concern of the central government as well. In fact, recently India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal expressed concern over the rapidly growing currency of online shopping. He warned people that if this continues, the people of India will become lazy in the next few years and the lifestyle of the people may become more sedentary due to the convenience of e-commerce. Advantages of Online Shopping Ease of Product Finding : Finding a product on the internet is much easier than going from store to store for a specific item. Order your groceries online and have them delivered to a convenient pickup location (click and collect) or collect in store counter. Cheap goods : Some things are significantly cheaper online as some offers are only available to internet customers. It's easy to browse products and compare prices before you buy online. Time saving : Online shopping is a good option if you don't want to waste precious hours waiting and browsing. This problem is easily solved with the convenience of ordering online and getting your items at the nearest and most convenient pickup location. Freedom of choice: When you shop online, you have a much wider range of product possibilities. This gives more options. Reliable option: Online shopping has become very reliable. Shopping from a good website can be enjoyed to the fullest. Online shopping is easy and secure. Disadvantages of online shopping Large-scale deforestation: A New York Times report also mentions that transportation used for online shopping increases greenhouse emissions. The same report also states that nearly three billion trees are cut every year for packaging of all kinds of products, including e-commerce. Various industries, including e-commerce, require a large amount of packaging materials every year, mainly paper, cardboard and wood. This material is usually obtained from trees. High energy consumption: Online shopping consumes a lot of energy. Online services such as cloud computing, data centers and streaming services require large amounts of electricity. These data centers consume large amounts of energy, which increases carbon emissions that are a major cause of climate change.
Cyber fraud is a punishment for not making shopping fun
The incidence of cyber fraud is increasing continuously. During the festive season, consumers are turning to online shopping for convenience and deals. However, if vigilance is not exercised at this time, the risk of data theft and cybercrime increases. Cybercriminals take advantage of online activity to target people. However, by exercising a little vigilance, one can avoid becoming a victim of cyber fraud. Beware of shopping scams: Shopping fraud is a particular modus operandi of cybercriminals. They create fake emails or websites posing as popular shopping websites to lure customers into entering sensitive information such as credit card details or passwords. To avoid this, the general public should avoid clicking on unknown links while shopping and be suspicious of offers that are not genuine. Always check for a secure connection by typing the URL directly into your browser. Option of Secure Payment Service : If you do not use a secure payment service, fraud may occur during online shopping. To avoid this, people should use a reliable payment platform that provides buyer protection and fraud detection. Don't use public Wi-Fi : Public Wi-Fi networks are convenient, but extremely insecure. Hackers can steal your data including your login information on these networks. Avoid using public Wi-Fi to avoid fraud. Check the legitimacy of e-commerce sites : Customers easily fall into the trap of fake online stores as they offer huge discounts but can steal your data. Thus, these discounts prove costly. Strong Password Required : A weak password is an open invitation to cyber criminals. Use strong passwords for your online shopping accounts. Fraudsters often make small purchases with stolen information to test their feasibility before making larger transactions. So keep track of your financial accounts. Share limited information: Be wary of being asked for too much information during a purchase. Cybercriminals can use this data to steal your identity. Share only as much information as is necessary to complete the transaction. Be careful about sharing personal information on social media. Beware of cybercrime, in case of any kind of cyber fraud call the cybercrime helpline number without any delay and report to the nearest police station. Cash On Delivery Option : To protect your bank account, it will be safer for you to opt for COD i.e. Cash On Delivery option. With this you will not need to share your bank details. You have to pay cash only when the goods reach your home.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
