Premised on nearly two years of living through the highs and lows of the COVID19 pandemic, retailers have consistently improved the consumers’ shopping experience. While most consumers associate shopping with visiting a physical store and purchasing a product, which is known as traditional shopping, online shopping is rapidly gaining popularity around the world due to the lockdowns imposed at the onset of COVID19. Today, the most favored shopping trends are online shopping and traditional shopping.
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For quite a while now, consumers have had the option of selecting their market, and they can buy products and services either physically in a store or online through the internet. Even nowadays, when e-commerce forms of payment have been widely used, many consumers still opt to see and touch their preferred goods in person. According to Think With Google, approximately 61 percent of shoppers love to purchase from brands that have physical locations. Nevertheless, whether online shopping and selling outperform, traditional shopping remains to be favored. Through this article, you will get to know more about the salient differences between online shopping and traditional shopping.
What is online shopping?
The act of buying products and services using the internet is referred to as online shopping. This is a very convenient method of shopping because you can use it to purchase items from anywhere at any time. You can just simply search for the product on a specific website or an online shop like Shopee or Lazada and order it with your credit or debit card. Other payment options are PayPal, ShopeePay, Maya, or GCash. Moreover, some online sellers also accept cash-on-delivery payment schemes. The growth of online shopping has been substantial since the emergence of large internet-based e-commerce sites, with a spike in the number of shoppers choosing to buy online rather than in-store. Many physical stores have followed suit, with the majority of stores now creating a separate e-commerce website from which customers can make online purchases ranging from mass produced to nonprofits.
What is traditional shopping?
The most commonly known shopping approach is traditional shopping. Here, one must leave home and physically travel to the desired shopping center or retail store. Traditional shopping allows you to see the real product before you pay for it. Using cash, one could purchase the actual product that he or she desires. This is a very important attribute for people who buy fashion items such as clothes and shoes because one must confirm and assure that the clothes or shoes are of the correct color or size. This feature of traditional shopping ensures that the transaction is secure.
Differences between Online Shopping and Traditional Shopping
1. Choosing the right product
a. In traditional shopping, consumers are given the option to see and touch the products they wish to purchase before paying for them. Moreover, when you shop in-store, you don’t have to hang tight for an item to arrive. You have what you need straight away and there are no additional shipping or delivery fees. It may be enticing to visit the store and leave with your purchase for shoppers who wishes to instantly remove items from their shopping or grocery checklist.
b. In online shopping, customers do not have access to physically see and touch the items that they are planning to purchase. However, the internet is an excellent resource for researching and comparing products before making a large purchase. Forums and other internet sources from reputable, credible sources can help you save time by testing products, outlining the benefits and drawbacks of various brands, and comparing prices. Customer reviews are another invaluable tool for locating a dependable product that meets your necessities.
2. Safety and security
a. Traditional shopping offers more safety and security since you will be handling your payment in person.
b. Due to the rapidly increasing risks of online fraud and online security issues, online shopping offers limited safety and security on e-commerce payment methods. Nonetheless, in terms of health protocols in lieu of the COVID19 pandemic, online shopping is preferable. Large crowds have long been a source of frustration for shoppers, but the pandemic has made them even more so. Even with efforts to enforce social distancing in stores, it is nearly impossible not to find yourself within six feet of other shoppers while browsing the shelves or walking down an aisle. In addition, online shopping also saves you time from standing in long checkout lines which prevents you from longer physical contact time with other customers.
3. Convenience
a. In traditional shopping, some consumers may experience that shops are closed at certain times and on certain days, so there is a time constraint. In addition, buyers should allocate money and time traveling to the store.
b. When comparing online shopping to traditional shopping, the convenience of online shopping consistently outperforms. A shopping list that used to take a full day to fulfill can now be done even while you are on your breaks thanks to the availability of the online shopping platforms. Provided that you are privileged to wait for delivery of the goods. You can also go shopping whenever you have free time, may it be during a 30-minute lunch break from work or even once your children go to sleep. And with front-door delivery, you’ll have one less thing to worry about.
4. Level of communication
a. Traditional shopping allows customers to interact with other customers as well as store employees through face to face. A far more personalized shopping development is achieved by a friendly and knowledgeable sales associate especially in combination with an up-close look at the products. This is certainly relevant for local and specialized stores, where you’ll almost certainly speak with someone who is intimately familiar with the products. Personal recommendations and expert advice can be extremely beneficial in a variety of shopping experience.
b. Online shopping does not allow for face-to-face communication. Nonetheless, while sales representatives can provide useful experience and knowledge, they can also make some traditional shopping experiences stressful for customers. It is not a surprising fact that some shoppers wish to avoid the pressure entirely by shopping online, where they can have all the time they can use and not feel pressured into a sale by someone required to work on commission or merely trying to assist.
5. Variety of goods and services
a. Traditional shopping does not give customers the opportunity to easily compare prices given the limited goods and items they display. Nevertheless, the support you provide to local businesses is one of the most compelling reasons to visit physical stores around you. Many shoppers are prepared to give up easiness and savings in order to support their local community. When you support and purchase goods locally, you get more than just a product since you can also help in boosting the local economy.
b. While physical stores are constrained by shelf space and retail agreements, online shopping has little constraints. There are numerous options available, such as whether your product is sourced from brands or sellers – both local and international. You can even reach small independent shops that were previously out of reach due to the growth of online shopping.
Online or Traditional Selling for Businesses
For many business owners, there is no need to choose between online shopping and traditional shopping. You can generate income from both while delivering the best shopping experiences for your customers. While some people may be doubtful and wary about entering e-commerce and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of online shopping, all of the facts and figures above show that this strategy is presumed to rise in the coming years, and you easily gain extra perks than having a physical store.
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Written by MC Sanchez
