When you think of popular Christmas traditions, many things come to mind: putting up a Christmas tree, decorating your residence to give off the Christmas spirit, spending time with family and friends, and exchanging gifts with others. But of course, to be able to swap presents with others, you need to obtain them somehow. 

Throughout the last couple of years, the popularity of online shopping on websites such as Amazon and eBay has grown exponentially around the world. With that, many people are starting to do their seasonal holiday shopping on these sites in order to avoid the hassle of going in person to a retail store surrounded by big crowds. Another reason that many shoppers enjoy shopping online instead of in-person is because of the quantity of items in stock. For example, Amazon has numerous warehouses all over the world with items in plentiful stock and new shipments being sent to those warehouses weekly. 

In comparison, when retail stores run out of a certain thing during the holiday season, they usually do not receive another shipment of that item until after the holidays are over. This is usually a big problem for retailers right after the Black Friday sales at the end of November, as the store has to spend the entire month of December selling certain objects that they have limited quantities of. These things have caused many to see Christmas shopping online as a no-brainer excluding the random item or two that they can save a lot of money on by purchasing it in-person.

However, some disagree with this new shopping phenomenon. Several still prefer to shop in-person rather than online because of the experience. Going Christmas shopping at the mall or at a shopping center is a part of the Christmas spirit to them, and they think it should be encouraged to the new generation. They also see in-store shopping as a plus in regards to receiving items in a timely manner. When shopping online, there is always the chance of something happening to your package such as robbery, a sudden issue in shipping, or inclement weather stalling the delivery. While spending a day out at the mall or a shopping center, you will be able to receive all of your items right then and there, and remove the stress of Amazon or eBay delivery timing. 

When asked about which of the two options he preferred, Jordan Amling (12) said, “I don’t see any reason to not shop online nowadays. While delivery times for items from online websites used to be inconsistent, you are usually able to get your stuff within a week now.” He also said about the Christmas shopping experience, “I don’t think many people really care about the in-person Christmas shopping tradition anymore. It’s too much of a hassle for everyone.” All in all, it’s pretty obvious that shopping online has become the more popular way to buy gifts. Whether shopping at the mall or shopping online, we can all agree that the better option is the one that fills you with the Christmas spirit most!