Is Brick And Mortar A Passing Fad?

If you're in the retail business, it's important to keep your toes on the ground about new technology overtaking brick and mortar stores. Quite a few experts feel that retail shopping is becoming a thing of the past, as more and more people shop online. But regardless of what people say, there are still millions of shoppers who love to browse through physical shops.

Some retailers are adamant that physical stores will never go out of style, citing their experience interacting with customers every day as their reasoning behind that firm belief. Others believe they'll eventually be obsolete because customers can find prices anywhere and don't need a sales associate for help or advice on purchases anymore. In fact, some research has shown that 70% of online shoppers also shop at physical stores, and many believe this will continue as long as there are great sales and promotions to be found in both places.

We used to rely on catalogues to browse for items we wanted to buy, but now we can read reviews about products that have been purchased by other shoppers. We can look at photos of a product and see what the item looks like on a person. This information helps us make informed decisions about our purchases. In fact, some experts believe that technology will eventually evolve to the point where products will send us information about themselves, such as how much energy they save, etc., and we'll be able to see those details right on our computer screens.

Back in the early days of online shopping, people didn't have a lot of faith in the system. Many feared that their credit card or other personal information would be stolen and used fraudulently. Displaying pictures of items made people feel safe because they could see what they were getting before they bought it. They thought that if they liked an item in person, they'd have no reason not to trust it online if it looked the same as it did in a photo or video.

In the early days of e-commerce, it was a little too easy for shoppers to buy products without having to worry too much about the quality. But fraudsters have recently taken advantage of this and many people have been defrauded out of their money by scammers who bought items with stolen credit cards. There are even some companies out there that set up fraudulent online stores that try to fool unsuspecting shoppers into believing they're buying from reputable businesses. They then ship fake items and provide fake warranties, all in an effort to pocket your money or order unneeded merchandise.

Online trading can be very convenient and many people are using it regularly. But like anything else, it does have its drawbacks. You can't see merchandise in person, for example. It might look very different than it does in the picture. The colors might not be as vibrant and there could be some significant flaws that you don't notice at first glance.

If you're still worried that physical stores will someday go flat, you can rest easy knowing that more people are shopping online than ever before and they're also visiting shopping districts to spend their hard-earned money at brick and mortar shops. In fact, there's a new store in any shopping district that seems to be raking in millions of dollars every day. You might want to keep an eye on this new trend, because savvy shoppers will do just about anything they can to save money and take advantage of great deals.

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For more information on this, visit the following site: http://www.thedigitaljournalist.org/2012/08/23/is-brick-and-mortar-a-passing-fad.html

Author: Tom Jackson, EIC at The Digital Journalist

Date Published: 08.24.2012

http://www.thedigitaljournalist.org/2012/08/23/is-brick-and-mortar-a-passing-fad.html

About the Author: I'm Tom Jackson, a freelance journalist based out of New York City and Puerto Rico. I've been writing professionally for 8 years now and have been published in over 200 articles on subjects ranging from travel to healthcare to business matters, and many areas in between. I've worked for a variety of publications and websites in my writing career, but the main site I contribute to is The Digital Journalist. If you've enjoyed reading this piece, please use the social media links at the top of this article to share with your friends. If you're interested in having me write for your website or publication, please feel free to contact me through my personal site here: http://www.thesocialmediatoday.com/. For more information on getting your work published on The Digital Journalist, please visit our "Write For Us" page here: http://www.thedigitaljournalist.org/write-for-us/.

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Amazon Could Put A Major Dent In Brick And Mortar Retail

Posted on by Tom Jackson

In the last 10 years or so, Amazon has put a significant dent in retail stores everywhere. There are now many stores that don't even have a website. They sometimes have some kind of catalog available online, but that's about it. That could all change soon though.

Amazon has been experimenting with 3D printers and more recently, is starting to offer options for their customers to order 3D printers from them. This means that you can buy your own 3D printer and use Amazon to order parts and the instruction manual. The instructions will also come on a CD when it ships, which is great if you have no Internet connection at home or can't get online.

The company has also been testing out drone delivery services for quite some time now and recently launched their first service in Canada.

Conclusion

If you've ever shopped online and had to wait on line or deal with shipping charges, then you know all about waiting. That's the primary reason why so many people shop online for their merchandise but the return business also goes up because people can get rid of their used goods without leaving home. Another great thing about this is that a lot of people are ordering very large amounts because they don't have to pay for shipping.

Brick and mortar stores are one of the last holdouts against e-commerce, but I think that's going to change in the next decade or two as more and more things become available online and do not require buying a car or taking a plane ride.