The Fast-Paced Growth of Online Shopping
Faster and cheaper delivery, online exclusive deals, easier returns and 24/7 availability, these are all reasons that are contributing to the fact that more and more people are choosing to spend money online rather than in stores. As a result, high street stores are beginning to suffer as people chose the comfort of home to shop rather than bother to leave the house. There still are many people who like the hands-on approach of shopping in a store, however, and there are still many benefits to this option. As quoted by shopping.fm, in the USA the total offline sales are 10 times bigger than online, however, online shopping is growing 3 times faster than offline. It won’t take long for it to catch up!
In the past, people were dubious about entering their credit card details online. In recent years security and protection of both E-commerce stores and credit cards have improved dramatically, making people feel safer about buying something online, even if they have never heard of the retailer before. Another major player in the growth of online sales is the ability to shop using a mobile device. Mobile are getting bigger and faster, and therefore the shopping experience they present is much easier than it was a few years ago. If a consumer thinks of something they need to buy when they are out and about, they can have it ordered in just a few clicks, no matter the time of day, from anywhere in the world.
It will be interesting to see just how quickly online sales begin to catch up with offline, but at the rate that it is growing, with the addition of constantly improving technology, it doesn’t look like it will be long before the high street will be empty.
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This feature originally appeared in love.shopping.fm.