Not so long ago, most of us would have been worried by the words mouse and house being used in the same sentence. The closest thing most of us came to home shopping was catalogues’ like Kays and Great Universal and if you were really well off, possibly the Next Directory!
My My how things have changed and gracious knows that was fast. Within the last 10 years EVERYTHING has become available on the old interweb and it is this very need which now drives the internet and any development on it.
10 years ago, you were limited to shopping locally. Today you can buy things from anywhere in the world, any time of the day and have it shipped anywhere in the world. Thus is the power of the internet!
In the UK, we have internet legends like ASOS, Handbag.com, Amazon, Play.com, wiggle.com, ebuyer.com, Ocado and Ebay. These are net only retailers and whilst these are the first ones I thought of I am sure the list is truly endless. But these are a new breed of retail giant who have no high street presence, yet generate massive turnover and profits from electronic shopping. Between these retailers alone, you could clothe and feed yourselves, manage your entertainment and technology and never meet a member of staff in a shop again.
Once you are past the E-only retailers like we are talking about above, we have retailers who’s on line presence is driving their international expansion and also their store development. Indeed retailers like NEXT and Marks and Spencer now have their flagship stores on line. These are retailers who have realized that the lowest cost route to international development is to adapt their ecommerce platforms to work in just about any country.
This means that the retailer can dip their toes into the market in a burgeoning market without having to find premises and hire masses of local staff. They can ship products and take money in days rather than months. If the on line shopping in a developing country takes off they can then legitimately look at hitting that countries High Street and if it doesn’t then they can still maintain a presence there.
But what of the companies that refuse to expand in this way? Retailers where their on line offering is less than perfect?
Remember, the city crucified Morrisons for having no online business, yet no food retailer makes money out of the ‘home shopping’ market. Was Morrisons sensible to stay out of it for so long? Was Asda sensible investing millions in a ‘same day’ home shopping network? Was Morrisons answer to the home shopping problem the best one? Was buying a huge stake in one of the UK’s best home shopping retailers the sensible option? Of course it was. Buying a great wedge of Ocado was inspired!
Are there retailers where ‘on line’ genuinely doesn’t work? The CEO of HMV thought it would never catch on – so they didn’t bother and we all know what happened there. Blockbuster never thought that people would stop renting VHS and DVD in store and we all know what happened there.
My answer is there is almost no retailer where buying something on line will not work and the proof is in the fact that whilst your local DIY shed may not have the best e-commerce sites, the specific products within those stores can be bought from specialist sites. With the exception of something bespoke like tailored clothes, fuel for your car, it is a fact that you can really buy everything on line.
Today’s E-shopping is a complex business. You can do it via almost any device from almost anywhere and get it shipped anywhere. Anything with access to the internet can shop now and anyone in control of that device can themselves shop! Everything from my smart TV and Blue Ray player, through to smart phone, computer and tablet – click, pay wait for the delivery!
As you read this today – you will I am sure have taken part on one of the internet’s great days. I refer to the much talked about ‘Cyber Monday” when more people will perform the function of mouse to house than any other day of the year. The first real day of Christmas shopping. This is the single biggest day in the E-Tailers year. The first working day after payday for many of us and it in the UK is expected that between the hours of 11.30AM and 2.30 PM the internet will slow down greatly as we all spend our lunch hour shopping happily for everything and anything.
However, my task for you after reading this and after your own forage on the internet is to come back to me on Monday and tell me where you shopped and how you found it. Was it easy, did you find it stress free?
Enjoy your shopping and awaiting the shipping, now I am of to www.ama…. Well I am sure you know where I mean.
