Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

If you are one of those women (or men) who love to be in the midst of shopping mayhem and chaos at the mall, then shopping online may not suit you because you are not going to …

(A) Have to stand in line or (B) Get elbowed by aggressive shoppers who have no couth, which apparently some shoppers don’t mind.

However, if you like shopping at your leisure, in your jammies, this is the route to go. Here are the top 10 reasons for shopping online:

10. Read reviews

You don’t get to feel fabric or touch the items that you are contemplating buying online, which is one draw back, but you can read reviews about the product, which are quite helpful. You can decide based on these reviews if this is something you want to buy. If the product has received a resounding thumbs down from 50 reviewers think twice about buying it. You can read details about the product, which aren’t available when you are shopping in a bricks and mortar store.

9. No crowds

If you are claustrophobic, agoraphobic, or don’t drive and hate crowds this is the ideal shopping method for you. Once you become a covert, trust me, you never go back. And the boxes that are used for shipping are generally quite good and can be repurposed.

8. Compare prices

You can easily do price comparisons. If you are looking for shoes, for example, go from one site to the next seeing who has the best price, the easiest return policy and who has the best descriptions of their product. Bookmark the pages so you can easily access them.

7. Secure shopping

Sites that are secure show a lock which indicates that your purchase and your information is secure. You know that you aren’t getting ripped off.

6. Customer service by email

If there is a problem you can email the merchant, and generally they are quite rapid in their response and good about accommodating your needs.

5. Gifts, samples and points

Often on-line merchants will include free gifts, samples, wrapping and pretty boxes when you purchase something and if you are a good customer you rack up points and get free stuff.

4. Keep track on your computer

It’s very easy to keep track of your purchases. Create a file in your email that you can easily access to see what you bought when, where and how much it cost. A lot of sites allow you to track UPS deliveries, which is cool because you know exactly when your package is going to arrive.

3. Delivery to your door – FAST!

The package or packages are delivered right to your front door and generally in record time. It’s amazing how quickly orders can be processed and delivered when you order online.

2. No dress code

You can shop in the middle of the night because online stores are always open, and you can shop in your pajamas or, heck, even naked if you want to.

1. You get packages

It is like Christmas, repeatedly. There’s a package on your front door step, and you get to open it. How fun is that? Yippee! Wheee! It brings out the kid in you! Even when you know what’s in the box it’s still fun.