Have you ever driven to the store looking for the perfect
shoe? You go from store to store looking at what they have
to offer until you find just the right one. But when you
go to the sales person and ask for one in your size they
tell you that they are sold out of your size. The more
this happens, the more enticing online shopping becomes.
Some of the bigger traditional stores have tried online
stores and come to the conclusion that they don't work. If
you check out their stores you can buy anything they could
not sell in the store but not every item the store sells.
The traditional Brick and Mortar edge. For store owners
who depend on foot traffic to make sales the growth of
online retailers is a serious threat. The local store now
has to focus on its strength and hope that remains enough
to win the consumer.
Privacy and Security. Preying on the fear that your
private information will be out there for anyone to grab
and abuse is a favorite of the traditional store. However
as more americans get used to online banking, booking
travel arrangements, buying movie tickets and using secure
websites this perceived advantage is loosing its punch.
These days you are more likely to loose your privacy to a
person you actually hand your credit card to than online.
Interaction. The internet is said to be an interactive
medium. The local store will seem to again have the
advantage here since the have sales people right in front
of you to answer your questions. The problem is that
anyone who has ever gone to the internet before they went
shopping tends to know more about what they are looking for
than the sales people.
A well thought out website anticipates your questions and
answers them with knowledge and experience. When you go in
to a store you rarely get to talk with the owner. It just
is not possible for the owner to be available for every
customer walking through the door. But online, the owner
can be involved. Experience has taught them the questions
you are going to ask about every product and they know the
answer. You can be half way around the world, shopping
while the store owner sleeps and he can still be answering
your question because he has anticipated it.
Selection. In the past, a traditional store could boast
selection as a key advantage over the online store. That
is far from true now. You can generally find exactly what
you want on line often direct from the manufacturer or a
website specializing in that particular product.
Shipping. The traditional store may boast no shipping.
However that depends on your point of view. You still pay
for shipping when you buy from the local store, it just
comes in the form of a higher price. If the item is not in
stock you pay for your gas to go to and from the store to
find that out. Then when the item is at the store you pay
for your gas back and forth again. In most cases I find it
costs me less to buy something on line and pay the shipping
than it does to drive all over and come home empty handed.
After driving to and from work the last thing most people
want to do is get back in the car and drive more.
The internet can be a cost effective way to save money as a
consumer. By cutting out the need for a store, the middle
man between the manufacturer and the consumer one can get a
higher quality product for the same price as a similar one
from your local store.
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The Author is a former Police Sgt, Pilot, Trained Mechanic
and over twenty years experience as a business owner.
Please visit http://www.spacap.com
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