Stanford economists collaborated with Visa to analyze about 400 billion anonymous transactions. By Andrew Van Dam Andrew Van Dam Reporter focusing on economic data Email Bio Follow March 15 at 7:00 AM The rise of online shopping has defined an entire epoch of American retail, yet we know little about what boost, if any, it has given to consumers and to the economy as a whole.
Researchers compared online transactions to their bricks-and-mortar equivalents and found the typical household gained about $1,150 in terms of convenience and expanded choice by shopping online in 2017, when the Internet accounted for about 8 percent of all consumer spending. Their analysis was laid out in a recent working paper circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
MIT Sloan economist Catherine Tucker, who recently proposed a framework for evaluating the gains from digital commerce, in the Journal of Economic Literature, said the Stanford team’s measurements were a valuable complement to government statistics. Tucker has worked with Stanford’s Liran Einav, an author on the paper, but was not involved in this project.
When the company offers both online and offline options and the bricks-and-mortar option is a mile away, a customer will choose online about 12 percent of the time. When it’s 50 miles away? The customer will take the online option more than half of the time. The challenge of measuring the impact of timesaving search engines or mapping apps has been widely discussed. Less attention has been paid to what Klenow called the “unmeasured GDP growth” created by providing online access to goods.
No it just save us time and exercise. You don't have to walk anywhere and you just sit at your computer and shop.
Maybe maybe not. But it certainly has stopped us from dealing with rude, obnoxious and unprofessional sales people. Love it!!! Hate having to go to stores.
💖💕💓💘💞💟💗 amazon
By the time they add on shipping and handling charges, it is something to ponder.
God no! Do you know how many articles of clothing I’ve bought that would have never left the store had I been forced to try them on?
Nope
I mainly like it for the convenience of having things delivered, saves me a trip into town from my house in the boonies.
For me, nope. I spend more shopping online that I ever would not online. Simply b/c I’m too lazy to go to the mall or wherever the shops are.
Flat out yes! No travel No gas Wear and tear on car
I shop online because I live in a rural area with few retail outlets. Anything beyond the basics is impossible to find within a reasonable driving distance. So if you figure in cost of transportation Yes I save money shopping online.
I don't know if I save money, but I've definitely saved time and headaches. Shopping online makes it easy to find exactly what I'm looking for, and the items come to me instead of the other way around.
Yes
Qtwtain.
Not necessarily losing money for me, but I find things that I need that you can't find locally offline, plus more variety. It makes SuperWalmart and any other 'Super' store look like a neighborhood ma and pop store.
No. But countless fender benders, parking lot scuffles, etc.
I thought online shopping was primarily for convenience. I can be anywhere, purchase something and then wait for its arrival. Time, travel costs, etc. the ROI is there for me. And when I do purchase online, I search for the better deal. Answer. Firm YES
Saves time, gas and aggravation of parking traffic and dealing with crowds.
no
If you know what you're doing it does
No! Profits to the owners
yes.
No I just buy more stuff.
Who cares about saving money? I shop online so I don't have to look at you people.
It’s not about saving money, it’s about saving time.
No. The prices are higher but they have the things you just can't find anywhere else.
It has saved plenty of oil!..
I love this article. It reminds me of one I read about if computers actually save us time. Not sure I agree with all of it, but it is an important read for anyone who wants to start inspecting their spending habits.
Lol Amazon Prime has done anything but save me money.