The feeling of euphoria after a day of shopping at the mall has now been replaced with a click of a button. Fun days out at the mall are declining as we transition to a new era of technology and online shopping. As we go through this time, we can see the gradual switch over to ordering things online. Let’s dive in and see how and why online shopping takes over mall shopping.
COVID has impacted shopping to a great extent. During the pandemic, while we were avoiding physical contact with the outside world, online shopping took over by storm. Estimates made by Coresight Research mid-pandemic in 2020 predicted that 25% of the country’s malls would close. Shopping online became the new “normal” for many people who feared for their health. This continued after the pandemic since many people systematically shifted their shopping habits. When asked if their shopping habits had changed after the pandemic, approximately 70% of consumers worldwide said they prefer shopping online more often.
The speed and reliability of online shopping play a considerable role. With just a click of a button, we can get anything we want delivered to our house in a couple of days. Rather than taking your chances trying to find what you’re looking for at the mall, online shopping makes it much easier to view a wide array of products and order what you like. It’s easier to find sizes, colors, styles, etc, which is not always true when shopping in-store. For example, Amazon has a massive online base that allows customers to buy whatever they want from various sellers and receive the product at their front door within a few days. Stores like Abercrombie & Fitch closed over 60 stores in 2017 and shifted to online sales.
The ability to view ratings and reviews online is also a key feature available online. Online, we can check to see how many people have rated a particular item and if they have rated it high or low. This helps us make sure we are getting our money’s worth. Positive ratings persuade and influence us to buy a particular product, while negative ones push us away from the products that are not worth it. The purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than without. People will not purchase an item with fifteen 5-star reviews over a product with fifteen 3-star reviews. That’s why reviews and ratings are essential; they are a huge factor in convincing us to buy things online.
With all these factors applied, it’s no wonder online shopping is on the rise. Its efficiency, variety, and features make it appealing to many consumers. As the years go by and technology advances, it’s no wonder we are switching to online shopping. There are still many malls around us, but their spark is gone, and that’s all due to online shopping. So what’s your choice, online or in-store?