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Online Shopping vs Offline Shopping

In this modern world of technology the Internet is probably one of the biggest and most significant inventions to have come about well which acquires each and every individual's attention.The internet was the go-to destination for product research. More than three-quarters (77%) of those polled said they compared products and prices online before they bought anywhere which is very true and we all have also experienced. Before buying any product people tend to acquire information about the product related information's that makes online shopping more comfortable rather than an offline shopping.

Retailers hate it when customers whip out their smartphones in middle of a store, check the Internet to match an item right in front of them, if not satisfied according to what they compare with the online market then they buy it in online at a better price.More and more consumers are switching between the channels when shopping for fashion, and using website as a virtual shop window.64% have researched purchases online before buying offline, upto 5% from last year's survey and 71% of women are much more likely to research online and buy offline, compared to 52% of men.

Consumers are more attracted to online fashion websites with importance of "effective filters" that allows the users to narrow their product selection. Besides, 55% say that the ability to filter by size and color makes them more likely to buy the products in online rather than in offline.

Fig : Shows the % of likes among the user for online shopping

Also gives the importance of product images and pages, with 51% favoring zoom-in/zoom-out and rotating images. Meanwhile Six out of 10 said that if they saw something they wanted in a showroom/shop, they often checked to see whether they could get it more cheaply from on web.

People as in their busy schedule nowadays prefer online shopping more than offline shopping. Everything is done on webs as internet plays a huge impact on day today life of an human. Taking any into consideration like online booking of tickets, recharging your telephones,paying your bills, etc is processed via internet. Consumers are more comfortable in browsing through their favorite fashion websites connecting any social media websites.

Let's take a look over the PROS and CONS on Online Retails over Offline Retails.

PROS of Online Retail:

1. 24/7 Sales

Online stores can keep on trading all day, every day. This means customers can shop when it is convenient for them and lets you offer your services for many more hours per day than with a physical store. More selling time means more sales so this should allow the site to increase the amount of stock they can shift.

2. Easy and Quick

Online stores are easy to implement nowadays as it hardly requires any technical expertise to get going. If you opt to use the online websites to make sales then you have a pre-existing route to market that you can tap in to which does not require any marketing to make sales.

3. National and International Reach

Online channels actually gives an access to combine a pool of customers all over the world.

You can sell products to various people around the globe connecting them at any outside catchment area that a physical store would serve.

4. Collection of more data and stock of more items

You can get much better visibility of your customers buying behavior online. From age and location demographics, initial search terms, related items they are interested and much more. All this data can be collected easily with a simple analytic program. Tracking this level of detail around a physical store would be extremely difficult and time intensive whereas with a website it’s just matter of adding a piece of code and all the data will be collected for you automatically. You have wide variety of designs on the items that you get on websites compared to that of an offi

5.More flexibility

Need to update your stock levels on a Sunday or in the middle of the night? With your online channels you can be based from anywhere you like, as you don’t need to be present in your customer facing store. You get control over when and where you make changes as your customers will be accessing your store remotely and at all hours of the day too. They get more flexibility and so do you.

CONS of Online Retail :

1. More Competition

The online shops have no constraints on the number of competing businesses than can strive to win away from you. Also, marketplaces that sell direct to consumer as well will be in direct competitor with you too and with their superior buying power will often be able to undercut your prices.Distinguishing yourself from the crowd of competition requires a lot of marketing, an exemplary customer service model and a reasonable pricing strategy.

2. More Admin

You will need to write and update detailed product descriptions, take photographs, upload listings, package and post items, as well as the usual stock control that is involved with a physical store. This could be as, or even more time-consuming, than displaying items on shelves for customers to see, fell and collect themselves.

3.Less Consumer Contact

As you are unable to speak to your customers it is harder for you to up-sell other items to them. It is much easier to hold someone’s attention if you are able to get into a real conversation with them. Online they can just click a button and be gone in an instant. People will be more likely to be loyal to the ‘local shop’ than to a faceless website.

4. No Touch or Feel

People can’t try things on or feel the quality of item when they shop online. This might mean that you lose out on a sale on a item that, when people buy online there is more chance it won’t fit properly or they don’t like the quality when it arrives at their door.This means that you will have to deal with a lot more returns which can be costly as well as time-consuming.

5. Marketplaces takes a cut

Listing products through a third party website, such as eBay and Amazon, mean they get a slice of your profits. Meaning you don’t get the maximum amount of money you could do for a product. You need to sell more in order to make the same money as your margins are much lower.

For few customers, it may be frightening to consider buying cloths online without thoroughly testing it for comfort. However, you will be surprised at how much showroom costumes even after a comfort test does not meet the customer expectation or durability. Many reviews indicate that only 71% customers are satisfied in 'Offline Shopping' whereas 78% were satisfied in 'Online Shopping'.

The PwC study also revealed a clear opportunity for physical stores to raise their digital profile and attract customers with new mobile services. Over half of the adults polled said they would welcome the ability to use their smartphones to search for a store nearby. A similar number said they were attracted by the idea of using a phone to search for different sizes, colors or styles in another branch, and then having selected items sent to their local branch, or to their home, for trying-on. These services would likely boost the relatively small number of consumers in web shops.