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Covid-19:In store versus online shopping

To do or not to do....

By Nkeonye Judith IZUKAPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
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Photo credit: Charles Deluvio

Are you an avid shopper? Do you have a therapeutic experience walking down the supermarket aisles? Then you might be having some dilemma with this pandemic. You might be thinking of making serious adjustments to the way you shop.

By Bluehouse Skis on Unsplash

Old habits die hard, at least in my case. There are pleas for social distancing. There are pleas to avoid unnecessary travel. These are not easy to adhere to. The changes happened in a graded fashion. I began with using hand sanitizers while maintaining weekly shopping visits. The sanitizers make sense when considering the non-practicality of handwashing in transit. Then I went from weekly shopping to aggregating my shopping lists to a master list. This resulted in less frequent visits.

By Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Now a bit on the experience while shopping in store; I started to target shopping off peak hours. Not a huge fan of latex gloves and for someone who had totally embraced hand sanitizers, I could not help but observe other shoppers who had taken to facial masks or semblance of masks. Oh, and the comedy that other shoppers and I created while in the aisles; it seemed like if I wheeled my cart to an aisle, some shoppers quickly made an exit. I learned quickly and returned the favour. Imagine being in an aisle, all by yourself, even for high demand items.

By Phuong Tran on Unsplash

Post shopping, I am catching up with an old friend on the impact of covid-19 [friend catch up seems to be another thing these days]. She very much agrees with infrequent shopping, but she adds a twist: "why aren't you shopping online? At least you can shop online and choose the option to pick in store..." And she seems to make the case for social distancing.

By visuals on Unsplash

And my mind extrapolates even further.... what of shopping online and getting it delivered home? Doesn't it reduce my risk even further? My mind considers how this can achieve social distancing. It considers cost savings on trips to the store. There is an option to waive the delivery fee if I meet the cash limit offered by lots of stores.

There is another angle: what if the grocery packer has COVID-19 but has no symptoms? What about the truck driver? What of those stocking the shelves? When my goods arrive, I arm myself with antibacterial wipes and a bowl of soapy water. I must do due diligence...

By Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

You see the mental dilemma COVID-19 puts some of us through. We are planning, extrapolating, strategizing, and changing [the only constant thing]. Some are following public health guidelines. Others are copying their fellow humans. Some are doing what they think is right in their minds. There’s still another set that is a mix of all groups. I am sure there are those who are unclassified.

What team do you belong to?

a]‘Team In-store shopping with gloves and masks’,

b] ‘team online shopping but pick in store’,

c] ‘team online shopping and deliver to my house’ or

d] ‘team please leave me alone but wake me when the pandemic is over’.

By Perry Grone on Unsplash

Guess what…I have not decided on switching to online shopping. For now, it appeals but can I sustain the restlessness that would come from lack of human interaction? Will my mind stop playing its games? What of that therapeutic benefit I would miss walking down the aisles?

humanity
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About the Creator

Nkeonye Judith IZUKA

love life & humor, simple, grounded, focused, tenacious, motivated, warm- hearted and a fan of nutrition

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