With the increasing growth in online shopping, many companies feel threatened and fear that the online market will negatively impact them. Several retailers, including Wal-Mart have already noticed a significant drop in the number of customers that physically visit the store, but rather make online purchases in the comfort of their own home. Companies like Best Buy Co. and Staples are closing many of their store locations and using more space for e-commerce pick-up. Online shopping is convenient for most people and it is gaining popularity, however, in the long run, it could post a serious threat to society as a whole (eg. unemployment).

Pei Ran Liu also made the same point in his blog post, mentioning that the growth of e-commerce throughout the past few years has put a lot of pressure on physical stores. He made a very interesting comment in regards to the success of the online market, depicting that “it is inevitable for online markets to gain popularity because they take advantage of the cost leadership strategy by offering a great selection of products at lower prices”. I completely agree with this argument and I believe competing with the online market will take more than just lowering prices and providing more in store services, physical stores must become far more innovative and creative.