Response: Online Vs. In-store Shopping

Lanny Pong’s blog post on Staples’ decision to close 15 store locations in Canada detailed the usual behavior of the 21st century retail industry (Pong). Many physical stores simply cannot compete with the convenience and comfort that online shopping offers. As I was reading through Lanny’s blog, I realized that there is very little logical reason for consumers demanding stationary and office supplies to make the effort of coming to a physical Staples store. This specific product is almost completely better off bought online. The biggest reason for consumers to come shop in store when given the option to shop online is that they need to test and hold the physical product before buying. However, stationary products can rarely be tested in store, and all we end up seeing is the packaging, which can be seen online as well.

This is the point when I realized that the emergence of online shopping affects different product groups more than others. Products that are  long-term investments (i.e. housing, cars), and groceries are  possibly the products that stand strong against the ebb of online shopping. Physical stores that have their store atmosphere as their Point of Difference will continue to attract customers as well. I used to think that consumers continued to shop in store because they did not respond well to changes in societal consumer behavior. However, there may be more layers to this.

 

Works Cited List

Pong, Lanny. “Online vs in store shopping.” Lanny Pong’s Blog. Oct.4, 2014. Nov.9, 2014 (https://blogs.ubc.ca/lpong/)

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