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Full disclosure: I am a Baby Boomer. A first-year Boomer actually: born in 1946 (you do the math, it only depresses me). Consequently, I’m not as comfortable with online shopping as, say, my 31-year-old youngest son, who gets treated by Amazon the way high-rolling whales get welcomed to Las Vegas. While I certainly do buy many things online, I still prefer to do most of my “shopping” at brick-and-mortar merchants. And I generally make my purchases there. I’d rather not wait to have what I want delivered via UPS just to save a few bucks. It’s as simple as this: in-store shopping is what I grew up with and I’m very comfortable with the experience.

And “experience” is the operative word.

Although “offline” buying is my comfort zone, I fully expect my habits to change in the years to come – for several reasons. First, there is the evolving (or maybe devolving) nature of offline retail sales. In recent years the biggest change in shopping has been the growth of the discount warehouse stores. No one goes to Costco or BJ’s for the experience; and Home Depot and Lowes don’t even offer free food tastings. These venues have prospered because they can compete on price with their online brethren. Their selection may be more limited than the infinite variety offered online, but you can see it, buy it, and take it home today. Besides, the megastores are just as happy if you order it from their website, so why should they be overly concerned about your in-store experience? Whatever happened to merchandizing?

In contrast to the declining amenities offered in real-world shopping venues, I anticipate increasing improvements to the virtual experience. Competition will, of course, be the driver behind online retailers and companies making their sites more helpful, engaging, and appealing. Additive manufacturing, aka 3D printing, will also play into this because ordering a customized, one-off product is most easily and efficiently done online. As the online experience becomes better, the in-store experience is likely to suffer even more. Yes, good service will still be available at the upscale boutiques and stores that cater to a well-heeled clientele, but I’m concerned with the behaviors mainline America here, not the one percent.

Ultimately, I believe those my age and older will come to appreciate the door-to-door aspect of the online marketplace. You order it and it comes to your door. Decide you don’t want it and you download a label, slap it on the box, and schedule a pickup from UPS. No explanations, no arguments, no trips to the mall or waiting on a return line.

When I was a young man you never pumped your own gas; today I prefer the speed and anonymity of self-service. In fact, I bypass stations that do not have a self-serve island whenever possible (damn you, New Jersey!). To take things back a bit further, a copywriter and World War II veteran I knew many years ago told me story about his return to civilian life. His mother asked him to go down to the local grocer and pick up a few items for her. As he told it, “I was astounded! They expected me to take a basket and pick the items off the shelf for myself!” (Yeah, he actually spoke like that.) Personally, the idea of giving a list to a clerk and having my order assembled for me sounds uncomfortably personal. It also precludes the ability to compare products, labels and prices when walking down the aisles, which is the way I learned to shop. Now, of course, the Internet has put comparison shopping on steroids.

It took a world war to change America’s shopping habits and expectations of personal service in the past. The effect of the Internet on society, however, is even more profound. Except for those latter-day Luddites in my generation for whom the PC will always be anathematic, I expect that we Baby Boomers will ultimately come to embrace online commerce.

Yes, it is superficially different from what we grew up with, but it is also the rational extension of a process that began with the industrial revolution. From handmade goods customized by an artisan, to manufactured goods sold by a service-focused retailer, to self-service shopping, to online research and purchase, we have been moving inexorably toward increased isolation in the process of obtaining our goods. Some will see this as alienation; others will see it as independence. As my generation grows older and personal mobility becomes an issue, I believe the latter view will win out, and “let your fingers do the walking” will take on a whole new meaning.

As I said earlier, I expect my own purchasing habits to change over time. I also believe that my relationship to the PC will change as it moves from being primarily a working tool to a portal for information, vicarious travel and entertainment. Heck, I might even give video games a try after I retire. That assumes, of course, that my arthritic thumbs can accept the challenge.