Shopping online may seem like a harmless and even menial task, but many don’t realize the impacts it has on their own community. 

According to SCISPACE, “Consumers are increasingly adopting online shopping, which poses a competitive threat to traditional retail outlets . However, online retailers also face risks, such as online credit card fraud, which can make small businesses more vulnerable.”

Local businesses have fallen on hard times ever since the pandemic. The estimated GDP (Growth Domestic Product) without the pandemic was supposed to be $117 trillion, but ended up being $103 trillion. What ultimately saved the economy was the extreme rise in online shopping and healthcare payments.

Most had their groceries delivered or bought anything needed off of big shopping sites like Amazon. Indoor and outdoor dining declined by about 65% in sales and retail shopping declined by 43%. 

According to the New York times, “The pandemic accelerated the growth of online commerce,” said Loren Padelford, vice president of Shopify, the e-commerce platform that predominantly serves independent retailers. “It woke a lot of people up to the idea that if you have to close your physical door, you need to have a digital door.”

The pandemic opened up the door to online shopping and after that more consumers turned to online shopping. Leaving already struggling local businesses with even less options. Over 750,000 businesses closed in the later months of 2020, on the bright side many businesses were temporarily closed and there was a surge of reopening in 2021. 

However, there are still positive outlooks on online shopping platforms. Now that shopping has become such a vital part of society. Many local businesses are switching to online retail sites, this still having the downside that many local retailers charge more for their products than other bigger e-commerce platforms like Temu or Amazon.

Yet, there is still the hope that this will make it easier for retailers to reach out to consumers that are truly interested in the pieces they sell and make it easier to find unique and individualized items.

There are still long strides to be made in the face of online shopping. Its ethicality being at the forefront, but it’s effect on the economy being the silent killer. Which we are doing nothing to stop. It might be wise for one to stop before adding to the digitalized cart and think what might be in their local stores.