Madison Riehle
Senior Reporter
In one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world, San Francisco teens find themselves using various shopping apps and online stores for pre-shopping as well as purchasing items, especially over the holidays.
“Because we grew up in the center of the technological world we use the Internet more than anything now,” junior Janet Kim said. “I actually prefer to shop online before I go to the store.”
Online shopping has nearly tripled within the last 10 years, according to E-commerce Services, a statistics website for online ratings. Clothing items are the fourth most sold good after books, electronic gadgets and movies. Internet sales this season are estimated to increase 16 percent, totaling about $96 billion in sales for the holidays, according to Internet Retailer, an e-commerce intelligence website.
“I shop at online stores such as Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters to pre-shop before I go to the store,” sophomore Marie DeTomasi said. “It saves time for me and my parents so we don’t waste time in the store as well.”
The term “Cyber Monday” was coined in 2005 when shoppers returned to their offices on the Monday after the Thanksgiving shopping weekend and used their computers to cash in on more sales online. This year, sales were up 30 percent, with 860,000 live chats and phone calls held to help shoppers with their purchases according to Internet Retailer.
Sixty-two percent of people will use their smartphones and tablets to review and purchase items by using the Web and store applications according to Internet Retailer.
One of these apps is the San Francisco-based Wanelo, which localizes trending products varying from clothes to appliances and arranges them by popularity among users.
“Wanelo is a way that you can shop for everything,” Kim said. “You can get stocking stuffers, birthday gifts and clothes.”
Seventeen magazine’s Seventeen Shopping Insider allows users to create shopping lists and find gift ideas based on their likes. A QR code reader is also included to let the shopper scan and find products as well.
“With technology moving forward, and with the holidays coming up, I shared the app with my parents too for things I want,” Kim said.
