By: Erin Pratt

Going to the mall and shopping is a thing of the past; online shopping is the new fad! Amazon and Ebay are among the high competitors in the online shopping world, but other websites are used as well.

Senior Jessica Kreuzer has been online shopping for most of highschool. “Shopping online saves me time and usually money. I ordered homecoming and prom dresses online and they fit and looked really nice,” she said. Jessica went to prom last year with a friend and her dress was ordered from the website Promgirls and she looked fabulous in it.

Senior Mackenzie Biediger went to Germany her freshman year with the school and ordered a bunch of clothes online before she left. “I like online shopping because it’s quick and convenient,” she said but she also has some stipulations about it as well. “Sometimes it can be a hassle to figure out how things are sized, and then it’s hard to return things, so usually if I’m not sure about how something will fit I just decide to shop in stores,” she continues. Clothes can always look different online than they do in person so when in doubt you should go try things on before you buy.

Actual stores are taking a hard hit though. Each year the amount of people shopping online goes up and stores are feeling the pressure. “Online is easier for me because I don’t have time to go into the store and people scare me because I have anxiety. But it will definitely drive local businesses out of business because we are not spending money in the community,” senior Clara Kissling said.

Although online shopping is more convenient than leaving your house and going to the mall, it is costing jobs in local areas. The less people shop in person, the less employees they need at the store. But nothing beats sitting on your couch in pajamas and ordering swimsuits in the middle of winter. Everyone has their own preference, what’s yours?