Save on Gas, Shop OnlineRunning errands costs us exponentially more than it used to. I always hated wasting time shopping and going from store to store but now it doesn’t seem to make much sense at all. In the past I would balk at the cost of shipping and handling to order online but lately even those sites that don’t offer free shipping have appeal. What’s $5 or so in shipping when gas is $4 a gallon and my Jeep drinks it like a thirsty sailor?

I won’t even get on my soapbox about the oil companies. With reports coming out today citing Exxon posting new profit record

That profit works out to $1,485.55 a second.

That barely beat the previous corporate record of $11.66 billion, also set by Exxon in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Somehow I don’t feel sorry for them. Sure raw material costs are up, but we’re talking PROFIT here not gross revenues, and that is truly, well, gross.

That leaves the rest of us who are not earning a grand a second with the need to be creative in the ways we save money. For me that has meant an increase in online shopping. Without spending a cent in gas I can surf the web, find the best deals, and sit back while the postal service, UPS, or FedEx use their carbon footprint to get it to me. I have always been an online consumer but I have to say that recently I don’t hesitate to turn online for things I used to go out to buy.

I’m not alone. In “Eight Effective Ways to Fight Back Tough Times” Kevan Lee puts shopping online at #4:

4. Shop online.

There’s no sense wasting gas, wasting energy, and wasting a Saturday afternoon on a Kanye West CD when you can find it for a similar price (or a cheaper price) from the comfort of your living room.

Many online retailers offer free shipping and for those that don’t it can often be worth the few extra dollars for the convenience and gas savings.

The recent NY Times article “To Save Gas, Shoppers Stay Home and Click” shares how big retailers like The Gap, JCPenney, and others are finding their online sales increasing while in-store sales continue to decline.

A number of retailers – including Gap, Victoria’s Secret and J. C. Penney – are experiencing double-digit sales growth at their shopping Web sites, creating a surprising bright spot during an otherwise gloomy time for sales in brick-and-mortar stores.

One popular strategy for getting shoppers’ attention is offering free shipping, in contrast to many other businesses, like airlines, that are adding surcharges and other fees to offset their higher costs.

Driving to the mall or outlet center can be a spending spree unto itself because of the cost of gas and other amenities like the mid-day snack.

Of course if in-store sales continue to decline, I sure hope that doesn’t mean more vacant storefronts and strip malls with massive buildings sitting empty. I’ve seen enough of that around my neighborhood.

So, if you’re feeling the pain at the pump and need to do a little shopping…do the new millennium version of “letting your fingers do the walking” by doing the click and shop.

Are you finding yourself shopping online more now that gas costs so much?

Photo by: Soctech

Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, works with lesbianswho are ready to create their lives and businesses in a way that fits who they are rather than how they were told they “should”. Get the free 12 part eCourse “How to Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin” http://www.coaching4lesbians.com and start taking charge of your own success.