A lot of us love online shopping because of the convenience it affords us. If you lead a busy lifestyle, then it can be hard to fit in regular shopping trips. But you can place orders online and have them delivered straight to your door, whether it’s groceries, clothes, tech, or pretty much anything else you can imagine.
Online shopping can also be a really useful service for seniors. Some older adults may find it difficult to get out of the house due to mobility issues, which may also make it harder to carry bags of shopping. Or if they no longer have a driver’s license, then there may not be a store within walking distance from their home. We’ve got some tips to help seniors shop online and stay safe while doing so.
The basics of online shopping
If you’re new to the world of online shopping, then we’ve got some basic tips to guide you through this process. There are millions of e-commerce websites that you could buy from, and search engines are usually the best way to find what you’re looking for. Head to a search engine like Bing or Google and type in a search related to what you want to buy. Or, if you know what website you want to buy from, such as Amazon, then you could just type that in instead.
Once you’re on an e-commerce website, you can browse the available products, read their descriptions and customer reviews, and then add them to your shopping cart once you’ve decided to buy them. You’ll then go through the process of entering your shipping and billing details to complete the purchase.
You can often get good deals when shopping online, so you could also try out comparison sites to look for the best price. The website you’re buying from may also offer discount codes.
Staying safe while shopping online
You want to make sure you’re handing over your address and credit card details to a trustworthy source. Before you buy, take a look at the address bar at the top of your browser. This is where the URL for that website is found. Ideally, it will start with the letters “https” if it’s a website that processes payments. This indicates that it is secure. There may also be a small padlock icon next to it.
You can also research the website and retailer by searching for it on Google. Look for reviews that confirm whether the website is legitimate and trustworthy.
At Brookstone Clemmons, we strive to help seniors live a happy, independent life for longer. If you’d like any more lifestyle tips for seniors or are interested in independent living, then get in touch.
