Brett Gold
Do you know that experts predict that the internet will be responsible for 90% of all sales by 2020?
But what does this really mean?
It’s simply this: people will either be actually buying what they want online or they'll be involving the internet in their purchases in some way by utilizing services like Groupon or Yelp to find the best deals and the most trusted businesses.
In fact, there's no doubt that the trend has already started. Many companies are noting that their brick and mortar divisions are flailing while their online businesses are growing.
But why is this online boom happening? What is it about shopping online that has become so attractive to so many people?
1. It's Cheaper Or At Least Seems That Way
Giant retailers like Amazon have made their names by offering the same products for lower prices than you can find them in stores. Amazon particularly has been so successful in one of their divisions – books – that they played a huge role in putting Borders out of business. And it's easy to understand why. How can people be expected to buy books from a brick and mortar store when the prices are sometimes 20 percent higher? Of course, prices aren't always lower for everything, but you'd never know unless a brick and mortar store was advertising its prices online.
2. It Comes To You
Sometimes it's fun to actually go out to shop, but often it's more of a hassle than anything, especially if it's not that important for you to see what you're buying in person. Why would you choose to drive to the store, struggle to find parking, hope you find what you're looking for, and wait in line if you didn't have to? In contrast, online retailers let you make your purchase from the comfort of your own home instead of paying exorbitant gas prices.
3. Options, Options, Options
Yes, of course there are plenty of brick and mortar options out there, but you have to drive around to each one or purposefully seek out their ads to compare prices and products – and some of them don't even put those ads online! But if you just do a quick Google search for a printer or a kitchen table, dozens of Google Shopping options will pop up from a wide variety of companies, complete with item descriptions, ratings, and price comparisons. It's just so easy.
4. We're More Comfortable With It
When online shopping first appeared, lots of people were initially uneasy. What if someone stole their credit card information? What if they didn't like the product and had to return it? What if the whole thing was a scam? Roughly a generation into making internet purchases, most people are now completely comfortable with the idea, only holding back when buying things like cars, houses, and appliances.
5. We live online
Perhaps the biggest reason for the shift towards buying online is that it has just become so tied in to our daily lives. We check email when we wake up, read the New York Times website with breakfast, repeatedly check Facebook while at work, and plan outings based on Likes and Yelp reviews. Like it or not, our lives are just becoming more and more centered around the web.
Now, did you start your online business for any of these reasons? Do you agree that online shopping will increase with the years? Share with us in your comments below.
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HI Chadrack
Great informative post!
Most of the businesses are online and others are trying their best to be online. Ecommerce is here to stay as you rightly pointed out – it gives number of options to buyers.to choose from.and at the same time it gives the ease to buy those.things.
Only thing that is of concern is the Security of the Credit card #’s.
Thanks for sharing this.
Kumar
@Kumar,
You are right there. Ecommerce is here to stay and there is no way we can ignore the internet any more. Any business that is still staying away from the internet is only sabotaging itself.
Btw. the post is not from me. It’s a guest post by Brett Gold!
Good article, gave me some fresh ideas too. It does a lot of sense and looking forward to coming back again to check your latest post.
@candice michelle,
Glad to hear that Candice. Hope Brett would find time to follow up on this! Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for your reply Chadrack, Hoping to see more of your good post next time I visit your site. Keep it up always!
You are right online businesses are growing and doing well in this economy. I for one have switched to doing a lot of shopping online because it is easier and I don’t have to worry about traffic or lines.
@Shane, Well yes online business are booming in this economy as I’m a gadget freak so every time I buy some new gadget I read reviews about the product and online shopping comparison helps me a lot through this and i like the writing of the article its explains every aspect in simple way.
These are perfect 5 reasons for booming online business. In my opinion, the last but not the least reason is very good in this way. People really love to shop online and the reasons are given here why they want to do so!! It’s cheaper and it comes to you, these are enough reasons from where online businesses are booming..
@bjohn,
And more than that, this is why you must put your business online and use the right tools and strategies so you can take a piece of the cake, or don’t you think so?
Hi Chadrack,
I totally agree with you that different dimensions of our lives move online. Businesses simply should adapt to the changing reality and be where potential customers want them to be.
@Jack Milgram,
You are correct there. Like they say, the only constant thing in the world is change! If so, we must be ready to use change for our own good. Thanks for the comment.
I carefully read the whole articles. I got a lot of successive information. Thanks for this and It’s will be help in business. You are correct saying.
I absolutely agree with all these points, shopping from the comfort of my arm chair on my iPad, you can’t beat it. I shop for a lot from Amazon and eBay, and it’s such a green way to go shopping online, your carbon footprint is minimal, we should all be doing it.
As for businesses, it’s ultimately cost effective as overheads are relatively low, especially if your business is solely online, which is probably one of the many reasons why things are so much more competitive in prices, compared to high street prices.