Good News For Consumers As Competition Heats Up Among Online Retailers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- For many people, the days of needing to see or touch an item in person before buying it are fading away into distant memory.
Duquesne University Marketing Professor Dr. Audrey Guskey says, "Nowadays the shoppers, particularly the younger shoppers, the millennials, don't care about that. They're pressed for time. They're in a hurry. They want things delivered to their home, reasonably priced. And so the shopping experience now has become the click and buy."
But when it comes to the major online players, are there really good deals to be had?
The answer is: without a doubt.
"When you're looking and comparing and shopping online, it's a price war. And always with a price war, who wins? Us the consumers," says Guskey.
Cheapism.com recently compared prices on dozens of items from Amazon, Walmart and Jet, which was recently purchased by Walmart.
Overall, Amazon had the lowest prices by about five percent.
Specifically, Amazon had the lowest prices on health and beauty products.
Amazon currently sells 50 million items, and if you subscribe to Amazon Prime for $99 a year, you get free two-day shipping on everything.
Walmart offers free two-day shipping automatically if you spend at least $35, but currently, they offer only 2 million items online.
Walmart also offers the option to pick up online orders at the nearest store, as well as a cheaper solution to returns.
Guskey says, "The advantage to shopping at Walmart regarding returns is that you can take it back to their store. So you don't have to pay for the delivery to take it back."
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As for Jet, Cheapism.com found their prices to be the highest among the three.
Guskey says, "The only way to get real savings there is if you are looking to buy in bulk, you're willing to use your debit card and you also are looking to forgo the free return policy."
Bottom line - online shopping is here to stay, and it's only going to get more competitive.
"For shoppers, it's great news for us because the prices are gonna keep going lower and lower because of this competition they have with pricing," says Guskey.
