“It seems like everyone is looking at me,” says Shannon, who just turned 24 recently. “I feel like their eyes are watching my every move and it makes me more and more aware how heavy I am.”

Shannon is not alone in such a predicament. Many women who are on the heavy side are not that excited with the prospect of shopping. For one, they are embarrassed about how they look. Two, many people do tend to throw judgmental looks at them. Some people even pitch in a couple of snide comments that can really bring down a person’s self-esteem and worth.

Online shopping on websites like ASOS has been a great thing for Shannon. Not only does she get what she wants at reduced prices using discount codes, but she can browse and shop for items for hours and hours with no watching her or making insulting and insensitive remarks about her weight.

“I have been shopping for plus-size dresses for a long time now,” Shannon states. “I can’t really stress how happy I am now that I can get everything I want and need right from the comfort of my living room.”

22-year old Meredith Briggs is an average sized girl who, like any woman her age, loves to shop at malls, sale or no sale. But Meredith is also into online shopping to purchase items that many women her age, or most people for that matter, do not normally buy from stores and boutiques.

“I have a fascination for lingerie made of leather,” reveals Meredith. “I just like it. But people have this negative connotation when it comes to such things.”

Online shopping gives Meredith an avenue where she can make discreet purchases to sustain her tendencies. Although she gives out her credit card information, she says she makes transactions with legitimate websites, feeling that all her private information is safe and secure with them.

“I can’t imagine how my family and friends would react if they knew what I have been up to,” Meredith says. “I am not doing anything wrong. But I really don’t like them knowing what my shopping habits are.”

Elizabeth Meeks is a 43-year old farmer’s wife who loves to ride horses. And she buys saddles. A lot of saddles to be precise. The problem is that the nearest saddle store is more than 200 miles away from their ranch, and that particular store does not have much variety of saddles to choose from.

“The Internet enables me to look up saddles that I just can’t find in town,” Elizabeth says. “I like the fact that there are many choices out there and the Internet allows me to buy good saddles at good prices without actually going to the store.”

Three different women. Three different stories. All three go online to shop at competitive prices. These are just some of the reasons why so many women today are turning to the internet to do their shopping.

Despite the slowdown in the economy in the previous year, the past few months of 2012 have shown some positive results. However, there is still a heightened risk of downturn. One of the biggest threats to the economy is the European-sovereign debt. Over the next decade, it is expected that the global growth will slow down to an average of 3% annually. For 2012, the expected global economy growth is 3.5% and it is also expected to increase to 3.6% from 2013 to 2016.

In the United States, the unemployment rate will be persistently high and the wages will continue to be low. In Europe, the sovereign debt crisis will continue to weigh heavily on consumers as well as on business confidence in Europe. The debt problems in the Euro area as well as the declining growth of the big emerging economies will most likely affect numerous developing countries.

Developing countries on the other hand will be the ones who will strengthen economic growth as they are expected to grow by 5.4% in 2012 and then increase to 5.8% growth in 2013. China will have the highest expected growth when it comes to its contribution to the GDP, with growth of nearly 9%. China is followed by India, other developing economies, and other developing parts of Asia. The emerging markets include countries in East Asia and the Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and South Africa. Those with the lowest contributions to the global economy are countries that joined the European Union back in 2004. While the global economy is expected to somewhat increase by the end of 2012, it is expected that between the years 2013 and 2016 global outlook for growth will decrease and then further decline by around 2% between 2017 to 2025.

One of the greatest challenges that the global economy is about to face is how to raise efficiency without the loss of work opportunities, especially during this slow economic growth phase. All the problems that the economy is facing such as the Euro debt crisis, the turmoil in the Middle East, and many others may only imply further serious downturn.

In 2000, a major consumerism report indicated that customers simply lacked interest in ethical produce. Today, Fairtrade products and other ethical brands are enjoying considerable support from consumers and the government, with 4.4 billion dollars worth of sales and a brand awareness rate of 70%.

It is encouraging that even in today’s troubled global economy, consumers still realize that their small indulgences may come at a great cost to others, and care enough to vote with their wallets.

Of all the aforementioned sectors, transportation and healthcare remain the most consistently reliable, with steady growth projected though 2016. Bus driving positions, for example, are due to rise by an average 7% within the next few years and their average annual salary remains steady at $37,060. Healthcare is faring even better, with projected growth of 18%, and as one example, an average salary of $64,900 for diagnostic sonographers in the US.

You can also read the full report now on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.