The question of whether it is better to shop online or visit a brick-and-mortar store is not that hard to answer these days. The trend of shopping online instead of visiting a physical store has been prominent for quite a while, but the pandemic made it even clearer that the former method is by far superior.
But what makes online shopping so popular? And is there a chance that we might not see any brick-and-mortar stores in the future? Let’s find out below.
Prior Customer Feedback
Customer feedback is a good place to start. For someone who has never shopped in a store before, they might be seeking information to justify spending money. It helps if the store was recommended by someone you know and trust, but it is a different story when you stumble upon it yourself.
Other customer feedback is necessary to get a better idea about businesses. And it is no secret that finding customer reviews online is easy and convenient.
If anything, online stores encourage shoppers to leave reviews or import already written feedback. Thanks to tools like Yotpo and Opinew, the review import process is pretty hassle-free. You can go for a Yotpo and Opinew main feature comparison details to learn about the tools in case you run an online store yourself and find that it has an insufficient number of reviews.
No Queues
Shopping online is convenient because you do not have to wait in queues. Sure, one could argue that brick-and-mortar stores have busy and easy-going periods, so you still have the option to pick a time to go when there are not that many customers.
However, that is not always possible, particularly if you are already busy and cannot afford to stand in a line.
Lack of Pushy Staff
The lack of pushy staff on an online store is another example of what makes ecommerce superior. Online advertisements and random pop-ups on a website can be annoying, but you can usually circumvent that with ad blockers.
A shopping experience that does not get interrupted or influenced by someone pushing you to purchase their goods and services is one of the most underrated aspects of online stores.
Convenience of Home Deliveries
Bothering to go outside and drive to a store does not sound too appealing at times. And this is particularly the case if the drive is long. Wasting money and time on something you cannot get right away does not sound too great, right?
Well, home deliveries solve the problem. You order the goods online and wait for them to be delivered to your doorstep. Such a method might take a bit longer than doing everything yourself, but the convenience of home deliveries should not be underestimated.
Plethora of Different Options
Shopping online means not being limited with available options. If anything, you can find stores that offer international shipping, and you are free to choose from a plethora of different goods and services that you would not find in brick-and-mortar stores nearby.
One other thing to note about the variety is that we can expect to see even more online stores in the future, which means additional options for shoppers.
Easy Price Comparisons
Comparing prices when shopping online is as simple as switching your browser’s tabs. On the other hand, visiting a brick-and-mortar store and not knowing which product to buy because of their prices means needing to memorize them or bothering to take pictures with your smartphone as a reminder.
Combine the price comparison with a plethora of different online stores that offer competitive prices, and you have one more example of why brick-and-mortar is inferior.
24/7 Availability
It is true that you can find some physical stores that offer 24/7 services, but those are not as common.
Meanwhile, there are basically no time limitations as far as online shopping goes. Sites are up 24/7 so long as everything is okay with them. You can wake up super early and do your shopping then, or wait until very late into the evening when you are finally free. The bottom line is that there are no restrictions as far as the availability goes.
Privacy and Anonymity
Imagine a situation in which you want to purchase someone a gift for an upcoming occasion, such as an anniversary. You are likely to seek anonymity and privacy to surprise another person.
Visiting a brick-and-mortar store means that you might be seen purchasing the goods, and it could lead to some awkward situations, such as explaining yourself.
Meanwhile, you have the benefit of anonymity and privacy when shopping online. Though be sure to delete browsing history if the gift recipient is someone who uses your computer or smartphone. They might check it and still find out about the gift.
