Online shopping is convenient and great if you don't want to get out and mingle with the masses, mask or no mask! You don't have to get out of bed, you can opt for next day delivery, and you get more access to product information than you do in a store. Shopping online is up only 19% from this time last year. Ted Rossman, Industry Analyst at Bankrate is surprised as well because online shopping rose 15% the year before. Rossman sees real growth, however, in online food delivery. "There are likely people who have never tried online grocery delivery - and never thought they would - and now they are doing it!"
Will Pandemic Change How We Shop Forever?
"It was predicted to take till 2025 to get this many people trying online grocery shopping and delivery. But that many tried it this year," says Rossman.
He says shopping online isn't as secure as buying in person. "Fraudsters are going where the low-hanging fruit is. It's much easier to perpetrate fraud online or at a gas station because of the lack of chip-card readers."
Rossman says to remember these few precautions when you're shopping online:
1. Keep track of your card information.
2.Change your passwords every month or two.
3.Use the same credit card for all transactions.
4.When you use a credit card, you pay with the bank's money - until you pay your bill. If you use a debit card, it is automatically debited from your bank account. There are laws to limit your liability for fraudulent credit card charges, but you may not have the same level of protection for your debit cards.
Photo:Getty