More people are purchasing online than ever before.  Below are 21 reasons why doing your shopping online is the way to go:

1. The price of gasoline - Getting in the car and traveling from store to store wastes gas.  Many times, a trip to the store ends up in the realization that the store is out of stock.  Week after week, little trips to various stores add up.
2. It takes less time to shop online - Shopping online lets you peruse different shops much faster than if you were to travel from store to store.  Think about the time it takes to decide which stores you will visit, the time out of your day it takes to drive to the various stores, and the time you have to waste waiting in a checkout line.  Shopping online saves you all those steps.
3. Greater variety of product online - You literally have millions of product choices at your fingertips when you shop online.  Try putting millions of products in a non-online store; space will run out real fast.
4. Better prices online - Most often, you can find a better price for a product online.  There are many reasons why online stores have better prices but to name a few: Companies have less overhead when the operate online stores as opposed to expensive real estate, buildings, employees, maintenance, etc. that go into running physical retail locations.  Retail stores invest a lot of time and money into keeping store shelves stocked.  With an online store, the only thing that needs to stay stocked is the warehouse that holds the product you're looking for, and that's a lot easier to keep in stock compared to thousands and thousands or retail stores throughout the world.  Another great way to find the best prices is to look for "like-new" or used items.
5. Ease of price comparisons - With a few simple clicks, you can compare prices of similar products across dozens of online stores.
6. Coupon codes galore - One great secret of shopping online is that it's never been easier to use coupon codes.  You can kiss the coupon cutting days goodbye.  When shopping online, simply enter the merchant's name or the product's name in Google and type "coupon" or "discount" along with your item.  You'll be amazed at the various coupon codes that are out there.  Yours truly did this when purchasing a laptop from HP and saved into the hundreds of dollars all because of a coupon code posted online.  Just be careful because using the coupon code generally helps us to rationalize purchasing even more, thus the extra savings in the laptop went to upgrading to better features.  Even still, you'll be getting a better deal than you otherwise would have gained.
7. Free shipping - More and more, online stores are offering free shipping especially if the order amount is over a certain threshold.  LLG offers free shipping on many of its items.  With Amazon Prime, you can enjoy free shipping on all qualifying Amazon.com items.  These items are usually sold by Amazon or partner merchants that use the Amazon Fulfillment network.
8. Fast shipping - LLG utilizes one of the best shipping networks ever created to deliver fast shipping.  Many websites will ship items quickly so that you come back often to purchase.
9. Customer reviews can help encourage informed and wise purchase decisions - A great advantage of shopping online is that you can check customer reviews of the product in question.  Often, customer reviews help you to be more aware of the benefits or potential drawbacks of a product so there are fewer surprises when you receive and begin using the product.  Customer reviews can also help identify new and unique uses for a product or even refer you to different products that might suit your particular needs in a better way.
10. Good return policies - Many sites now offer incredible return policies if you purchase online.  Online stores that have retail brick and mortar establishments will usually let you return an online purchase from their website to one of their physical store locations.
11. Shopping online helps you plan a little better - Because you have to plan for shipping times (whether you overnight your purchase, ask for two-day delivery, etc.), buying online can help you become a better planner because you know that you need to purchase your item, at least a day before you need to give it away as a birthday present for example.  Because many sites now offer overnight shipping and next-day delivery, you don't have to plan too far in advance, but hey, it's helping you to plan a little bit at least and as someone once said "planning is good." J
12. It can be easier to find hot deals - Email newsletters and discount sites can alert you to hot deals on products for which you are looking.  Even some text messaging services will send you info regarding the latest and greatest deals.
13. It makes shopping the day after Thanksgiving much easier - In the U.S., many consumers stand in lines in the early hours of the morning to catch door buster deals at major retail locations.  A little secret that many don't know about is that many online stores take part and discount their items as well.  Save yourself the trouble of standing in line and in the cold.  Check out the deals that will be posted online and take advantage of them.  Many folks that stand in line at stores are often disappointed to find that they item they want is out of stock because there were only a few in each store.  Purchasing online on this particular shopping day may also end up saving you a lot of money overall because you won't catch the purchasing-frenzy-fever in which many will buy items that are not even on sale and that they don't really need all because everyone else is purchasing like mad.
14. Online purchases reduce inefficiencies - If you're the economist-type, you'll appreciate that purchasing online removes many extra steps and hands that have to "touch" the product before you receive it.  When a product is made it transfers hands many times before it reaches the physical retail store.  Sales people are involved to try to get the product inside the retail store (they get a chunk from what you pay), the retail store (obviously gets paid), but unbeknownst to many is that the product many have sat in various warehouses to finally make its debut in the store.  Purchasing online can eliminate many of those steps in between and thus can offer you a better price and result in less energy expensed overall to get the product to you.
15. More convenience in sending gifts - If you have friends or relatives that live far away, you can easily order gifts online and have them sent across the country or even internationally.  Many companies offer gift wrapping or custom messages that can be sent with the product.
16. Shopping online is safer - Granted, this point could be hotly contested, but in many cases, it can be much safer to purchase online.  For example, you could trip and break your leg when out shopping at a retail store (That's a joke.  We're talking about credit card numbers and identity theft here.).  Think of the numbers: if you purchase from 1,000 different retail stores (online or physical), your credit card or check information is now in the hands of 1,000 companies, but also all the people at those stores that have access to your personal information thus increasing the chance for fraud.  Purchasing online affords the opportunity to have one or two places to store (securely) your information.  For example, LLGCO.com uses the Amazon.com payment system which lets you pay with your Amazon.com account.  That means you need to have only one user name and password, your payment information is not shared to anyone but Amazon.com and you're using a name you can trust.  Google Checkout and other payment engines also make this possible across other websites.  You can purchase thousands of different items but have only one or two trusted names that actually store your payment information.
17. Specialty and rare items are easier to find and purchase - Online, you'll be able to find that unique photo album, iPod case, or Japanese trick box that you've been looking for.  You'll also be able to more easily find items from different cultures and parts of the world.  You can even purchase bonsai trees and have them sent to you.
18. Hey, free boxes - Good boxes are expensive if you purchase them one at a time.  When you purchase online, you'll receive a nice box that you can reuse for storage, moving, or to package an item to send to someone else.
19. International items are now at your fingertips - Purchasing online opens up the possibility to purchase items directly from countries other than your own.  Always be away of customs, duties, taxes, shipping rates, etc. when purchasing internationally.  Buying internationally can open up a wide range of products.  Just make sure you feel comfortable with the selling website and check to make sure that they use Google Checkout or other trusted payment solutions rather than straight from your credit card.
20. Contest and Rewards programs - Many online sites offer rewards programs for shopping at their location.  Other websites will offer coupon codes that can be emailed to you.  One fun and exciting thing that many websites will do is offer contests for you to participate in.  It's a lot easier to enter contests online than to find them at stores.
21. It's fun - There's something about getting a package in the mail or on your doorstep that is just plain existing.  It's like Christmas in July (or any other time of the year).  Opening something that has been shipping to you can remind us of the fun times of Christmas and birthdays.

Shopping online can be a great experience; there are, however, a few things to look out for:

1. To reduce the chance for fraud, use payment services such as Amazon payments or Google Checkout to pay for your order.
2. Make sure there are good customer reviews for the product.
3. Take a close look not only of the pictures of the item but also the description to make sure the product fits your needs.
4. Purchase from well known sites such as Amazon.com or sites that use secure payments such as Amazon payments and pay attention to shipping methods and prices.
5. Eat your vegetables (okay, not really a part of shopping online, but it's not a bad idea anyway).
6. Have fun.