The World of Online Shopping

What do you want to buy? Clothes, Books, Watches, Electronics, Jewellery, Toys? You name it and you can find it in an e-commerce website. Online shopping has become the trend now. Gone are the days when we used to go up and down different shops and stores to purchase a single product. We took days to decide on a product to purchase it. But online shopping has changed that. Get into a site, search for the product from a huge number of options, place an order; your product is delivered in a few days. Forget up finding the right shop, struggling in crowds and worrying about parking.

Online shopping is not new. We have had the likes of teleshopping who have been in this line of placing order and getting the product delivered. But there was an amount of risk people felt in this type of shopping. But with the advent of Flipkart and the likes, online shopping is surging. People have gained trust.

Online shopping has made things very comfortable for the people. The sites are designed in such a way that finding a product is much easier than finding a product in a real store. The specifications are given elaborately and there are product reviews from buyers which helps in a big way(Though there are possibilities of it being rigged). Procedures for cancellation and returns in case of damaged or defective products are very clear, all the payment modes are made available and delivery is quick and smooth. All this makes the entire shopping experience pleasant. Above all, online shopping offers loads of discounts. Offers are put in, gifting stores are opened; when we enter the website for the first time, it's no less than a carnival.

With so many interesting options, smooth procedure and delivery, all done sitting in one place, online shopping has a long way to go ahead. People are spending lot of time surfing through e-commerce websites that it has become more of a hobby now. But what is the future of the physical stores? Will we see a decline in their business?

I can site an example here. Few weeks back, I went to a book store in a mall. It was a huge store containing nearly all the best sellers and new releases, stacked up very nicely, organised according to genres. After some time, I picked up a book. I really liked it and as always I checked the price. It was priced at MRP. I remembered the same book sold at a 40% to 50% discount in an e-commerce site. I quietly kept the book in its place and came back.

I agree. The same may not be the case for all the products. Products like clothes, furniture, even electronics, people still believe in going in person, having a look at it, get a feel of it and then purchase it. But I do see a time when that will change. With the amount of trust growing on online shopping, people may actually step into buying all products online. What will happen to the physical stores then?

A point to be noted definitely is that, online shopping is done only by people with access to internet and mainly by youngsters. Hence, a vast majority of people still prefer physical stores as of now. But specialty stores  for books, watches, music and movie CDs and DVDs sellers are certainly seeing a decline in the business.

Though majority of the reviews on online shopping is positive, there are lots of problems present here too. Not all e-commerce sites could be trusted, products received can be damaged, parts could be missing, colour may not match to the one you had selected, delivery might be delayed, customer support may not reply properly, could be some problem in transaction, etc. Luck of the customer plays an important role. If you are lucky, your product will be perfect. If not, it's going to be a huge headache.   Another question which pops in my mind is, are people spending way too much in online shopping just because it's simple?

With technology attracting people from all ages, e-commerce sites marketing their companies very innovatively on TV and newspapers, there will be a time soon when it won't be just youngsters who will be shopping online. The future growth graph for online shopping is definitely moving up. I don't see a decline in the graph for physical stores but not an up as well. Physical stores should work to keep their place and try and attract people in ways possible. E-commerce companies has found the perfect way to pull customers to them by giving unbelievable discounts. It's time for the physical stores to put their thinking caps on.