The Technological Advancement and Online Shopping
The technological advancement seen in the 21st century has changed the world into a global village. The availability of technologies like the internet has altered lifestyle a great deal and today everything can now be done via online and shopping is not an exception. The growth of online shopping has been tremendous in the 21st century and because of the numerous advantages associated with this mode of commerce people are shifting from traditional shopping malls. This paper will look into the comparison between online shopping and traditional shopping malls and come up with a conclusion about the best shopping medium.
Convenience of Online Shopping
Shopping online is more convenient because individuals can buy anytime whenever and wherever they want as long as they have an internet connection. Most online stores have websites that are compatible with both mobile phones and desktops, and this means one can shop while in the car, school, office or house. It also saves time because customers can log into the website and make purchases by clicking on the products and wait for them to be delivered without having to go to the physical stores. These online stores operate seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day, and this means customers can get services all year round while at the same time avoiding the stress of traffic jam and crowds. Shopping mall, on the other hand, requires the shopper to go to the physical stores. This medium of shopping is not convenient because it is time wasting, the stores do not operate throughout, and therefore the customers may find it difficult to access them when they urgently need to buy something. Similarly, since the shoppers need to drive to the stores to make purchases, they incur an extra cost of parking fee and fuel (Picincu).
Costs and Selection
Online stores do not incur expenses of renting malls, hiring sales people or high electricity bills and for this reasons their operation costs are low. Furthermore, they are not restricted by space, and therefore they can display a wide range of products on their websites without any restrictions. Also, since these products are obtained from the sellers or producers directly without other intermediaries, the prices are low, and the online retailers pass on the costs saved to the customer in the form of rebates and discounts coupons (Fantoni, Hoefel, and Mazzaro). On the other hand, shopping malls have to cater for the expenses of renting the malls, wages for the salespeople and huge electricity bills. The retailers transfer these costs to the consumers, and this makes the products sold by these stores very expensive. Similarly, the stores have limited space and therefore might not be able to display all the varieties of the products that customers require for comparison (Chiang, Kuan-Pin, and Dholakia, 180).
Real-Time Price Comparison and Customer Experience
Online shopping enables customers to compare real-time prices for various products across different retailers regardless of their geographical locations, and this helps the customers to choose the best deals. The Internet makes it possible to shop from different stores that are a thousand miles from each other in one sitting. Most of the online retailers have features like live chat where prospective buyers can contact customer care agents via WhatsApp or Skype, and this provides a better customer experience (Torres). In addition to these, the websites of the online stores allow the shoppers to read reviews from other customers and understand what other customers had to say about the same product and this information sharing is very instrumental in assisting them in making informed decisions. In contrary, price comparison for customers shopping from Brick and mortar stores require them to move from one store to the other, and this could be tiresome and time-consuming because in most cases these stores are in different geographical areas making it necessary for one to drive from one store to the other. The advantage of shopping malls is that they have sales assistance in place that provides face-to-face support to the clients who are more effective in helping the customers to make informed decisions as compared to communication via live chat as in the online retailers (Torres). Similarly, unlike in online shopping where customers can only view the picture and the description of the product, in shopping malls, one can try a product to ascertain if it meets his or her requirements before buying.
Hidden Charges and Customer Service
Web-based purchases may appear cheaper, but they come with hidden charges such as shipping cost which could be higher and end up making the final price of the product to be very expensive as compared to the market prices. Also once the product has been purchased the customers may find it difficult when using the warranty, exchanging or returning the product that is defective because they may be needed to pay shipping cost that could be unreasonably high. In contrast, retail stores only require the buyer to pay the price of the product which is inclusive of sales tax and no other shipping charges in addition to this will be necessary. Also in case of an exchange, return or repair using warranty all that is needed is the original receipt of the product, and the customer service provider will do their best in ensuring that the customer is satisfied. (Brianne). The retail stores provide a better customer experience because they are customer oriented and the customer service departments always strive to satisfy the customer to maintain their market share.
Conclusion
The advancement in technology has made it possible for people to shop via the internet using their computer and mobile phone from their houses without having to go to the retail stores. This invention has come along with numerous advantages that include customers can now compare prices from other retailers easily and make an informed decision. This mode of shopping is convenient because it saves time, money and one can make purchases anywhere any time without restrictions. Although online shopping also has some challenges like customers cannot try the products they intend to buy before paying for them, its advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and therefore it is the best alternative in comparison with shopping malls.
Work Cited
Brianne. Infographic Growth of Online Shopping in Last Decade. Demacmedia. https://www.demacmedia.com/growth-of-online-shopping/. 2014.
Chiang, Kuan-Pin, and Dholakia R. "Factors driving consumer intention to shop online: an empirical investigation." Journal of Consumer Psychology 13.1 (2003): 177-183
Fantoni, R., Hoefel, F., & Mazzarolo, M. The future of the shopping mall, http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-future-of-the-shopping-mall. 2014.
Picincu A. Difference between shopping at a mall and online shopping. Bizfluent. https://bizfluent.com/info-8588747-differences-shopping-mall-online-shopping.html. 2018.
Torres M. Comparison: Buying online vs. In a Store. Lifewire. https://www.lifewire.com/buy-online-or-in-store-3276438. 2018.
