Cha-ching, Cha-ching, that’s the sound that many San Luis Obispo High School students debit cards are hearing this season.

With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down most all retail stores for multiple months, couch shopping, more widely known as online shopping, has become the new craze.

From ordering clothes, to accessories, to random items on Amazon, it is easy to say everyone at some point heard the money dropping from their wallet. 

   “I am a very avid online shopper, I browse every night on some types of websites. During quarantine I did quite a bit of online shopping until I started running out of money,” said senior Gaia Villani. 

  Online shopping can become very time consuming and distracting. People may find themselves sitting and scrolling for hours just adding item after item into their shopping cart. This can go on every single day for some on multiple different websites, with more than 58 percent of all people saying they will continue to online shop more.

Carts are adding up to hundreds or thousands of dollars blown with students whipping out their debit cards. And because of the pandemic, Amazon doubled its net profit year over year to $5.2 billion, compared to $2.6 billion at this time in 2019.

Consumers have spent nearly 212 billion dollars on ecommerce between April and June 2020. Next thing they know, there is a package at their doorstep with all the items they ordered online. 

  “I definitely prefer online shopping, it is way more convenient and I find that I am more successful in finding clothes that I wouldn’t normally pick out for myself because they are modeled on the screen. I also love receiving the package because it is as if it is a little present to yourself,” said senior Ellery Yasumoto.  

  For others, online shopping can have become their business or source of income throughout COVID-19.

From either COVID-19 cleaning to finding new hobbies, students and people all over have fun items for sale. They are making a living from others scrolling through apps such as Poshmark, Craigslist, Thredup, or Etsy, just to buy the things they are re-selling.   

  Next time, you want a surprise, online shop and get something delivered to your doorstep. But remember, it is never free. 

Sources: Zoovu.com Roirevolution.com theverge.com