It feels like more and more people are shopping on their smartphones, tablets, and computers than ever.
One might think that such a trend spells trouble for brick-and-mortar stores. It would not be a stretch to suggest this. The number of abandoned shopping malls throughout the world is one of the examples of how ecommerce is affecting the economy.
The question is, what makes online shopping superior? It might not come as a surprise that there are quite a few reasons behind that.
1- Available Customer Feedback
Let’s start with customer feedback. More often than not, online stores offer a lot of feedback for goods and services that come from prior shoppers.
Some shops also incorporate a review import strategy. One can import Amazon reviews into your Shopify store using Opinew and other similar tools.
The purpose of customer reviews is to utilize them as social proof. If someone finds that a store is lacking in prior shopper experience, the odds are that they will shop elsewhere, particularly if they discovered a store themselves rather than heard about it from someone.
2- Availability 24/7
Unless a website goes down, online shops are available 24/7. Sure, one could argue that you can find brick-and-mortar stores that are also open all the time, but it is more convenient to shop online in the middle of the night or early in the morning because you do not have to bother visiting a physical store.
3- No Queues
Queues are also not really a thing in ecommerce. The closest thing to that could be complicated checkout processes. Some stores take things a bit too far and add unnecessary steps to create a pretty lackluster shopping experience.
Having said that, as a rule of thumb, you usually do not need to bother with that. Adding a product and going directly to checkout with a few clicks is a common setup among online store owners, which is far superior to queues in brick-and-mortar stores.
4- No Pushy Staff
No pushy stuff is another benefit. Those who shop online regularly have probably forgotten what it feels like to have someone convince you to spend money even if you are only browsing.
Pop-up notifications and other types of online advertisements are a bit similar, but they are easier to ignore. You can also straight-up disable them by using an ad blocker extension on your online browser.
5- Sense of Anonymity
Imagine yourself in a situation where you want to purchase a gift for someone without others finding out. Comparing online shopping to brick-and-mortar stores, the former is by far a safer option.
Unless someone checks your browsing history (you can clear it right after you finish shopping, by the way), the odds of getting exposed are pretty much non-existent.
On the other hand, if you do the shopping in a physical store, you might run into other people who will ask questions, and that might ruin the surprise.
The internet is great for anonymity in general, and shopping online is not an exception to this rule.
6- Delivery to Your Home
Getting goods delivered to your home sounds like a great deal, particularly if delivery fees are part of the deal.
Even if you cannot pick up a delivery yourself, someone could do so on your behalf. Or, as an alternative, you can arrange for the purchase to be delivered to a special pickup point where you can collect it when you can.
Sure, there are some exceptions, such as things you need sooner than a delivery can be arranged, and it is natural that you will use a brick-and-mortar store in such a case. It is just that one cannot deny how convenient it is to have goods delivered to your door when you order them online.
7-Different Options
The variety of online stores is one of the biggest advantages. Even if you live in a large city with all kinds of shopping districts, the odds are that you might not find the exact thing you are looking for. And it is a given that if someone lives in a smaller town, they will rely on online shopping even more.
International shipping is great as well. You might have to wait for a while to get the goods, but the wait is worth it because it is still better than nothing.
8- Easy Price Comparisons
Comparing prices in different online stores is as easy as switching internet browser tabs. The same cannot be said about brick-and-mortar. You need to remember the prices or take pictures on your smartphone to compare them later.
Once again, online stores offer a more convenient option for someone who wants to save money by finding the cheapest available pick.
Conclusion
All in all, it should be clear that online shopping is superior. Because of the ongoing pandemic, even more, people have to rely on it, which means that they discover the benefits. With how things are going, it might not be a stretch to say that brick-and-mortar days might be counted, especially if the ecommerce industry continues to grow as it does now.