(source: vigcapital.com)
We used to go to nearby Blockbusters to rent the latest movies, now we can watch just the same content with Netflix online. This is just one example of how technology has reshaped our lives. Despite of E-Commerce’s emergence, The Shelf Edge recently blogged about the opportunities for brick and mortar retails. Like many X and Y generations, the author is also someone who often purchases electronics online for a bargain. Because the author wanted to get the product immediately for his mother-in-law, he ended up going to Best Buy for a computer. During his visit, he received important information and great services from a Best Buy sales representative who inspired him to come up with this idea that traditional retail can still prosper and compete with online shops.
I agree with the author. Yes, computer does save us time going to a store and provides us with a wider range of shopping selections. However, traditional distribution channels do have competitive advantages that are defending themselves from their digital competitors, especially for service-oriented companies like Best Buy. For instance, an important step in providing good service is to know what the customers want, even though surveys can be conducted to reduce the knowledge gap between marketers and customers, important signals from buyers like their body languages and facial expressions can only be sensed by experienced humans, not computers. As well, traditional retails can bridge the communication gap between the sales people and the consumers. For example, when you look at the descriptions of a computer online, a lot of people don’t know what the specifications would do. If you are at Best Buy, you can access their computer experts before sales and after sales to make sure you made a well-informed purchase, and it’s more likely that you will have a better user experience with your purchase. Therefore, I believe that brick and mortar retails will still exist for many years to deliver their best values to customers.