personal

I dislike shopping malls.

I remember having this conversation with a girlfriend of mine who makes it a point to go to the shopping mall every weekend, as a family outing activity. That is the time that they will look for things to buy - the needs and the wants -  or just to window shop or just to look at people . To her, its family-bonding & therapy time.


And during that conversation, it also made me realize how I dislike shopping malls. I dislike the time and patience it takes to find a parking. I dislike the distance it takes to go from one place to another. I dislike the disappointment of looking for something and it cannot be found, resulting in going to another mall. I dislike walking for no-purpose, not knowing where to go and what to do next. I dislike the crowd. 

It turns out, Mr. seems to feel the same way too. 

We did an experiment a few times these past few months - checking how long we can last in a mall. 
The longest was 4 hours (which includes a movie). Once we arrived, we will go straight to the particular shop, have a meal, and then we will start asking each other "So, where to next?".
After a couple of "Where to next" we end up with "Jom balik je lah,"

Some may view 'jalan-jalan at the mall' as a relaxing and de-stress time but it is definitely the opposite for me. I can get agitated.

The only shopping mall we LOVE are Subang Parade & Empire Subang :
  • So close to home
  • Parking is easy.
  • Mall is small 
  • ... because our little kiosk is there 
And we always go straight to the objective and head back right after.

Which also explains why I love online shopping! I am definitely an online shopper. With website like LAZADA, I can get almost everything there. Even pampers! Not just that, I can also compare on the prizes of items from different websites and read reviews. It is also much cheaper than at the store as most of them do not have to pay a high rent for their shops.

Look at this beanbag here that I just bought for ZAAHARA's new office. I did a survey and you can NEVER get it at that price now:





When Aisya was much smaller, I shop for baby products at http://onebabyworld.com or  http://mybbstore.com or http://babymanja.com.

For fashion, of course there's Fashion Valet.
(Looking for something similar but JUST FOR KIDS. Any suggestions?)


THIS is also why I BELIEVE that ZAAHARA should operate mainly online. When we first told people about our idea on having an office, many asked us, "Why not boutique?" Because I myself am lazy to visit any of these online shops's boutiques. If I find anything I like, I just click and purchase. And I am sure that there are many many more out there like me. I want to give the solution to other young urban muslims from ALL OVER THE WORLD - to be able purchase lifestyle islamic products from just one website. Just click and go.

So, are you an online or offline shopper?
Create your own user feedback survey



Erina Z Ellias

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