Top 10 Reasons to Shop at the Mall

My commute often takes me past a major shopping mall and it's clear from the mall's frequently packed parking lot that shopping online has not replaced the joys of shopping at brick and mortar shopping malls.  In spite of the endless variety of products you can buy with the click of a mouse from the convenience of your home, many smart shoppers continue to shop at brick and mortar stores. I love shopping at the mall so much I compiled a list of the top 10 benefits of shopping at a real shopping malls over shopping online.

1. At the mall you can sample a variety of products  in a way that engages the senses the way a computer just can't. Wandering from store to store it's possible to taste food from specialty food shop, get a whiff of fragrances from beauty department at department stores, apply body lotions from shops like Bath and Body Works to experience the thickness of the texture and see how fast it is absorbs, and get free makeup makeovers at the various beauty departments.
2. At a local mall it's easy to try products before you buy. A computer can alter the color of products so they look different on the computer screen than they do in real life and it's hard to tell how a garment is going to fit. Shopping at brick and mortar stores allows you to try clothes on to see the fit, feel and true color of the product.  
3. It's easy to make any product look like a million bucks online but do those product stand up to an up close and personal inspection? It's easier to identify quality of products when you examine them in person and   spot cheaply made goods like perfume that disappears 5 minutes after you put it on, or clothing made of flimsy materials with the texture of sandpaper. It's also hard to tell how thick garment fabrics are shopping online. For example, if you are buying clothes for work, you don't want to buy a blouse that looks opaque online but looks semi sheer in front of your boss!
4. The internet is synonymous with information overload. If you are looking for the latest fashions, the latest book releases on a specific topic etc. you will find them clumped together with millions of older products online making it hard to separate the freshest fashions and releases from yesterday's news. Stores at the shopping mall have to edit their selection to the latest goods because they simply don't have space to stock a lot of items that are out of season, out of style or old book and music titles.
5. Online products are often photographed individually leaving it to your imagination how that home décor piece or fabulous fashion item would look as part of an ensemble. In many brick and mortar stores  products are often displayed with related products. At a home décor store a table may be set with dishes, napkins and a centerpiece, clothing is displayed on mannequins as complete outfits with accessories. Seeing products displayed this way provides plenty of stylish inspiration.
6. Many deals and discounts shop up in stores that don't show up online. Retailers that sell both online and at brick and mortar stores might sell products directly from their warehouse and when the warehouse runs out of that item they stop selling it online. But those same clearance items that aren't in the warehouse from that retailer may still be available in the physical store. For some retailers liquidating out of season goods is faster and easier their brick and mortar stores than selling those items online.
7. Credit card debt and identity theft are just a click away online, but paying cash avoids these problems. It's easy to pay cash at the mall. Paying cash makes it harder for identity thieves to steal your identify because you aren't sharing any personal information. Paying with cash makes it easy to save money If you only spend the cash you have on hand you won't rack up credit card debt.
8. Shopping at a brick and mortar store offers instant gratification and the peace of mind of holding them items you paid for in your hand and having them in your possession. Buying products in person means there are no shipping costs or other issues to deal with. Even if your package is delivered there is still the very real possibility of porch pirates stealing your packages. 
9. Even if you aren't shopping for anything in particular, if you feel like you are in a rut a trip to the mall can be worth a trip for it's entertainment value alone. Between checking out new products, people watching, and indulging in the abundance of junk food available, the shopping mall provides a fresh change of scenery that breaks up the monotony of work, errands and hanging out at home.
10. Sometimes you will see mall walkers in tacky jogging suits purposefully strutting the length of the mall in tacky jogging suits. Their fashion choices may be wrong, but they do have the right idea when it comes to walking for exercise. You are certain to burn more calories walking around a good size mall than you will clicking the "Buy" button on your computer.