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In as much as we believe that the internet has become more influencial to the way buisiness is done, I can not see the retail chains being dominated by online sales. The reason being that many consumers still get satisfaction from touching the actual desired commodity and paying for it at the counter or till. some consumers would take that as time out with family and would enjoy doing that every now aand then.
In my opinion, retail chains are not choosing online stores vs offline stores, what I see is an omni channel approach, where they promote/sell their products and brands everywhere.
Nowadays customers are more and more and better informed everyday and many purchasing decisions are made online although the purchase itself is done offline. Internet helps the customer to compare, follow trend-setters or other customers opinions, learn about the product or the brand, etc.
We are customers80% of the time and have made "go shopping" a part of our lives, socialization and leisure experience. In countries with mild weather, people like going outside, have a walk, meet some friends and therefore visiting shops, at the same time, if the weather is extreme, shopping malls are the perfect place to go to meet friends, going to cinema or having dinner in a safe and confortable environment.
I agree with the previous answers regarding the product itself and the services related to the product conditioning offline or online commercialization but we must realize that big efforts are being made by the big online operators and differences in those services are narrowing. Satisfaction or money refund, fast delivery, huge assortment are no longer an asset of the big shopping malls but a common practice and almost a minimum standard in both, offline and online commerce. Not to mention price factor, that by means of less estructure and operational costs of online operators, allow them selling items with les margin without affecting so much their bottom line.
Traditional retailing have their weapons as well, they are focusing on the buying experience making each visit to the store an unforgettable experience, beautiful decoration, exceptional sales assistants, special offers etc, with the aforementioned natural strengths such as comfortable environment to spend an evening, additional services like dinning, cinema, bowling etc...
It depends on where ,when and what you want to buy
I believe it is impossible to buy everything online , we are having open doors stores, fitting rooms and yet Saudi customers still changing and return goods , the knowledge of online buy not yet known in GCC out of (electronics and gadget) customers buying by look without reading or understanding the details.
Yep, agreed most of it as online selling is a profitable way of clearing terminal stock.
I am sure it will happen one day, but yes customers still like visiting malls & browsing products physically as it gives them better understanding on quality purchase.
With the latest trend right now, consumers especially those who are working professionals prefers buying online for more convenience. If the online sales process would be effective at the present, there is a bigger possibility that in the near future, retail chains will adopt on this issue to compete with the current online business sales.
Retail chains and Online will co-exist. Both channels will have their own exclusive product offerings. With 'Time' being a key aspect in this scenario, Retail stores have to ensure the best sales and after sales service to avoid losing customers in the ongoing Online/ Offline war.
I don't believe that all retail channel will be turned into online shopping but yes I strongly agree to survive in the market it will be required to do business online with their retail outlets because the way e-commerce is growing and capturing the market. There are certain type of people who doesn't go for online shopping until they don't see and touch the product. people love to window shopping and these hobby I am sure not gonna change so quickly.
