Student Pandemic Shopping Habits Have Changed

People from all over the world recently experienced a global pandemic. Adults, teenagers, and children have adjusted to a new society in the past year or so. Whether it’s wearing a mask in public to not being able to hang out with friends, things have changed in a way. One thing that has changed over the past year is students’ shopping habits.

Shopping, for most teenagers, is important to them because it supplies both their wants and needs in life. Shopping has been impacted heavily by the recent pandemic. Reasons for this may be the distributing of goods and safety precautions in stores. Because of this, many people started to shop online. 

“I used to spend a lot of time shopping in stores before the pandemic. Now, I only really shop online, mostly because it is just more convenient.” said Mary Buktaw, a senior at Freedom High School. “Even though you are not able to have a real shopping experience with trying on clothes and such, I haven’t found the time nor motivation to shop in stores.”

Not only do certain students find shopping in stores unsafe, but finding time to do so can be difficult for them too. 

Students also seem to be spending more money than they did before the pandemic. 

“I have noticed that I spent more on small projects and makeup over quarantine to fill my boredom. I probably spend about $180 on average on clothes and random things on average every month,” said Elana Leichty, a sophomore at FHSl. “I used to prefer shopping online during quarantine because me and my parents were uncomfortable shopping with people around me.”

While some students enjoy shopping online, those shopping experiences are different for everyone. Some students may feel like online shopping is inconvenient due to things such as delivery waits, product flaws and scams. Some parents do not allow their kids to buy off of certain websites due to the risk. 

“Shopping online is easier,” Buktaw said. “You also don’t have to walk around the stores or wait in lines. I shop in the same few stores so I know what sizes to get.”

One of the main problems with online shopping is product damage. When shopping in stores, people  can simply test out products and choose the one they want. However, when shopping online, the products they order may have flaws and malfunctions. While some people don’t mind the minor flaws, those who don’t, have to go through the process of returning the product.