Conventional Shopping vs Online Shopping Essay

On-Line Shopping Vs Traditional Shopping The advent of the Internet has had an impact in our lives in all sorts of ways such as in the manner in which we communicate, flirt, date, and most importantly, how we shop. While even in the recent past the thought of whether some day one would be able to buy an Armani outfit wearing pajamas while looking after the needs of a couple of toddlers would have seemed an outlandish idea, thanks to the increasing sophistication of the technology of the 21st century, practically everything is virtually possible, and shopping from the comfort of one’s home has become a part of most people’s daily lives. When retailing on the web started, sometime in the middle to the late 1990s, it gave rise to the debate which is still ongoing, about online vs. traditional shopping. And even though shopping centres are still being thronged by shoppers, just as they do on the Internet, the question still remains – Whether online shopping will conquer all, or if traditional shopping will survive this increasing onslaught of e-shopping? In order to study this, let’s examine a few pros and cons of online vs. traditional shopping: Advantages of Online Shopping Internet has revolutionized the way we do our Shopping. Because of the numerous Advantages and Benefits of Shopping Online more and more people these days prefer Online Shopping over conventional shopping. Given below are my Top 10 Reasons for Buying Online. 1. Convenience: The convenience of this method of shopping is the best advantage liked by many people. Where else can one do shopping even a midnight wearing his/her night suit? one do not have to wait in a line or wait till the shop assistant is ready to help him/her with purchases. One can do shopping in minutes even if one is busy apart from saving time and avoiding crowds. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24 x 7 and also reward us with a ‘no pollution’ shopping. There is no better place to buy information products like e-books. Immediately after the payment is made one can download the information. And downloadable items purchased online eliminate the need for any kind of material goods at all. 2. Better Prices: Another thing which fascinates most customers is the cheap deals and better prices they get from online stores because products come to them direct from the manufacturer or seller without middlemen involved. Many online shops offer discount coupon s and rebates. Apart from this, the Online Store is only required to collect sales tax if they have a physical location in our state even if we buy from a store across the world. 3. Variety: The choices one can get for products are amazing. Read more: Essay About  Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping One can get several brands and products from different sellers at one place. You can get in on the latest international trends without spending money on airfare. When you shop online, you can shop from retailers in other parts of the country or even the world without being limited by geographic area. These stores offer a far greater selection of colors and sizes than you will find locally. Apart from that, How many times have it happened that you spend your money reaching a local shop only to find that the product you need is out of stock? Some online shops have a provision to accept orders without stock and ship it across to you when the stock becomes available. You also have the option of taking your business to another online store where the product is available. 4. Send Gifts: Online Shopping makes sending gifts to relatives and friends easy, no matter where ever they stay. Now there is no need of making distance an excuse for not sending a gift on occasions like Birthday, Weddin g Anniversary, Marriage, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day etc. 5. Fewer Expenses: Many times when we opt for conventional shopping we tend to spend a lot more than the required shopping expenses on things like eating out, traveling, impulsive shopping etc. 6. Comparison of Prices: Online shops make comparison and research of products and prices possible. Online stores also give you the ability to share information and reviews with other shoppers who have firsthand experience with a product or retailer. 7. Crowds: Many customers would like to avoid the crowds when they do the shopping. Especially during Festivals and Special events the crowds can really give a headache. Crowds force us to do a hurried shopping most of the time. Crowds also create a problem when it comes to finding a parking place nearby where you want to shop and going back to your vehicle later loaded with shopping bags. 8. Compulsive Shopping: Many times when we go out on Shopping we end up buying things which we do not require because of the shop keepers up selling skills. Sometimes we even compromise on our choices because of the lack of choices in those shops. 9. Buying Old or unused Stuff at low prices: Online Shops make it possible for us to buy old or unused stuff at rock bottom prices. If we want to buy antiques there is no better options than online stores. 10. Discreet Purchases: Some things are better done in privacy. Online shops are also best for discreet purchases like adult toys, sexy lingerie and so on. Online Shops enable me to purchase under garments and lingerie without the embarrassment that there are several people watching me and my choices. Disadvantages of online shopping The craze of online shopping has picked up quite significantly in the last decade and online sellers are expected to improve their share of purchases for years to come. There is no doubt that one can find great deals online and so many different brands which may not be even available in regular stores, even shopping malls. Despite of all the hype, there are certain disadvantages of online shopping. 1. One Do Not Physically See The Items: Normally when we shop from a regular store, we can see the item and at least visually inspect that it looks fine. You can select a color, size and can even speak to a sales person to clarify doubts regarding an item. The biggest disadvantage of online shopping is we do not physically see the item till it arrives. May be you have seen it in the nearby mall but there is a possibility that the particular piece you have ordered may be defective. Misinterpretation or misunderstanding of items bought online is a common problem. Usually the photo of items y ou see online are much better than once you have the item in front of you 2. Wait For The Items To Arrive: Once one place you order the waiting game starts. One has to wait for a few days for the item to arrive which can be quite frustrating. Most experts believe that we are most excited about your â€Å"buy† in the first few days, so by the time your item arrives you will most likely be less excited then getting the item on same day you made the payment 3. Chances Of Mishandling While Shipping / Delivery Risks: What if the item you are expecting never arrives, you will be lost in a series of phone calls to the seller and the courier company. What if you are not at home during the time of delivery and the courier company leaves the package on your door and a passerby decides to steal it? What if the shipping company broke your stuff and you realize it after opening it when the courier man has already gone away. The seller might claim that you broke it. 4. Shipping Charges: Only a few sites offer free shipping, some others will ship for free only if your total purchase price exceeds a certain amount. Shipping fee is often a big dis couragement for online shoppers. 5. Returning Merchandise: Even if the seller agrees to take back the defective merchandise, you often have to pay the cost of shipping it back. Additionally you have to call and convince the people regarding the reason of your return. Some good sites do have excellent return policy, but not everyone. 6. Online Security: Making payments online is usually safe but not always. There may be sites which are not secure or do not encrypt your personal credit card data, so if a hacker breaks in their system, your personal data can be compromised. 7. Risk Of Online Fraud: Some people pretend selling items at a very cheap price and often send you a low quality, opened or refurbished item, in other cases the site may shut down unexpectedly, leaving lot of customers who might have already paid for the item but did not receive anything. Shopping online can also take you to phishing sites which want to defraud you. 8. Timezone Difference: In countries like USA there are various time zones and the customer service hours of the online shopping site may be different from your time zone, making it difficult for you to get in touch with a human when you need help. 9. Sales Tax: Although an online shopping site may not charge you a sales tax during the purchase, you are legally obliged to pay taxes when you file annual taxes (assuming you live in a taxable state). Most people are able to get by, but in case of a scrutiny not paying sales tax on online purchases may become an issue. 10. A Dull Shopping Experience: Many customers enjoy going to a mall or just the nearby bazaar and enjoy the ambiance and feel more social among other people. Online shopping can be boring for many and make you feel like a loner. 11. Restocking Fee: Most online stores have a restocking fee, specially on electronic items. Items that you buy in a store, can be opened within the store in front of an associate after purchase, and if there is an obvious defect you can return/exchange it without paying a restocking fee which is usually between 10 to 20 percent. 12. Spyware On Your Computer: Having a virus or a spyware is not the sellers fault but there is a risk of your personal data / credit card information, to be stolen right from your own computer. 13. Knowledge Of Operating A Computer: Older people in particular are not comfortable operating computer and they will never purchase online because of the same reason. 14. Deal Hunting Can Be Frustrating: It is common that the price of items are different on different sites. Some people find excitement in finding good deals online while others hate to check various sites to find the best price. Also online shopping can often become addictive. 15. Online Connectivity Issues: You add items in your online shopping cart, enter your credit card information and press â€Å"submit†. What if the confirmation screen times out due to connectivity issues. You do not know if the order went through correctly or not. Many people refresh the screen and little do they know that it may cause double billing / double ordering. 16. One Cannot Buy Low Priced Or Perishable Items On The Web: Small items like pencil, eraser, socks, water bottles etc.. are low priced items and shipping them will likely double the cost. You will always have to depend on regular stores for them. Similarly items like milk, fruits and vegetables are perishable items and cannot be ordered online. 17. One Cannot Buy Items That He/She Need ‘Right Now’: Disadvantage of online shopping includes inability of getting items in your possession quickly. Most good internet sites have taken adequate measures to overcome most of these disadvantages. An intelligent online shopper knows a lot more than a novice. Both regular stores and online shopping have advantages and disadvantages of their own. However, traditional shopping does have certain plus points. Immediate gratification that local brick and mortar shops provide is still liked by many people. If you want something right away, just now, getting it from a retail store is the only option. Seeing and touching a product is also an important factor for many people when they buy things. For example, most people would not buy a piece of expensive jewellery only on the basis of a picture on a website. The chances are slim for the Internet to capture a share of the market of industries which are more suitable for traditional shopping. While consumers can carry out research online for high priced items like properties and cars, people usually want to see the piece of real estate or visit a car showroom and test drive a car before finalizing a deal. A traditional retailer bestows the personalized human contact which is not available on the Internet. Besides, for many people shopping is a source of entertainment, almost a social rite. People like to handle things, especially clothes, feel the texture, and try them on to see how they look in them. For Our Study We took * Myntra was established by Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania and Vineet Saxena in February 2007. Myntra’s headquarter is in Bangalore, with regional offices in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. * In 2010, the company shifted its strategy to becoming a B2C (business to customer) oriented firm, expanding its catalogue to fashion and lifestyle products. * Myntra.com is ranked among the top 10 e-commerce companies in India . In the last 3 years, Myntra has become the most popular destination for personalized products in the country. * Products :- * Men, Women, Kids Clothing * It Has About 20,000+ Styles, 350+ Brands and Counting! * It has the largest collection of the latest fashion and lifestyle products in India! * Myntra has tied up with top fashion and lifestyle brands in india, such as nike, reebok, puma, adidas, asics, lee, lotto, decathlon, fifa, john miller, indigo nation etc. * To offer a wide range of current season merchandise from these brands. Myntra currently offers products from more than 200 indian and international brands. These include shoes for running, tennis, football, basketball and fitness, along with casual footwear from world-renowned industry leaders like * There are also casual and dressy footwear for women from catwalk, carlton london and red tape to name a few. * Capabilities * Order processing and delivery: myntra attempts to order and ship every order within 24 hrs.it offers free shipping within india on all products it can ship internationally to all major countries. * Technological: myntra maintains its website which provides the only means by which a customer can make a purchase. * To maintain, upgrade and improve the website and the user experience, myntra employees many computer science engineers and experienced professionals. * Marketing: * Myntra has successfully used social networking websites facebook and twitter to expand its customer base. * Myntra positions itself as a fashionable new age brand. It launches major marketing campaigns every year. In february 2012, myntra rolled out an ooh (out of home) campaign across 2 cities to build brand awareness and promote online shopping. * Myntra has used mostly viral marketing and internet for its popularity coupled with occasional discounts and referral discounts. It can be given a rating of 3/5. * Revenue Model Myntra.com is an aggregator of many brands. Its business model is based on procuring current season merchandise from various brands and making them available on the portal at the same time as in respective retail brand outlets. All these products are offered to customers on mrp. It is a business to customer (b to c) revenue model. * Competitive Advantage * Competitive advantage in any e-commerce business can be due to a cost leadership or product differentiation or both. * In the case of Myntra the competitive advantage is mostly due to cost leadership * In special cases it also enjoys competitive advantage due to product differentiation. In case of IPL t- shirts the buyer can get his/her name imprinted on it. Also Myntra’s business model up till 2009 was of customized t-shirts and mugs etc which allowed it to have product differentiation. Recommendations When buying from online stores make sure to check out the following. * Does the online store value your privacy and confidentiality? Is their privacy policy available to read if you want to see it? * How long have they been in business? Are they reputed in business with great reviews from customers? * Does the online store have a way to contact them? * If you’re unhappy with your purchase, do they have a refund policy? If one take care of the above, Online shopping can be a very rewarding experience. Conclusion We think online shopping is great. We have grown an increase interest in doing most of our shopping online because of its convenience, no rush, and because you view everything in one place. The internet is can be shopping mall! However we think that there are items where traditional shopping has an edge over the online shopping. For example- while buying furniture like sofa, the feel of the sofa is very important. In traditional shopping one can come to the store and sit on the sofas to see if they like them or not. Many people are pickier than others and seeing the furniture online may seem like a good idea to them at first, but then they receive it and it’s a big disaster. Now, add the frustration of exchange/returns on a sofa you’re not happy with spells bigger disaster! we think that’s the only drawback. Other than that, online shopping is fun, convenient way to shop. Our only advice is be safe, be smart and make sure buying is done from a reputable website.