Hi all, So today after I finished college at lunch time, I went and met my Mum at the shopping centre right across the road from college. After we had finished there and we were walking out and Mum said to me "Do you shopping centres will still be around in years to come" and I said "That's a very good question", A lot of people are shopping online these days because it's cheaper and you can get free shipping and huge discounts. What do you think?
Do You Think Shopping Centres Will Still Exist In The Future?
- Thread starter BK_123
- Start date
The internet won't kill shops, but it's already forced them to adapt and will continue to do so, potentially reducing the number in the process.
Physical shops have a number of advantages that online retailers will never be able to claim on:
- Browsing - I can easily walk through a shop and have a look at what's on offer, what sort of things they have available, and when I see something pick it up, feel it, play with it etc. I can't do that online.
- Trying things on - Clothes shopping will always have an offline advantage for trying things on. Yes, while there are sizes and I know what size I am, for some bizarre reason a pair of 40 inch shorts can be 38 inches in one place and 42 inches in the other, with no real way to tell (apart from bad experience!)
- The "have it now factor" - When my computer mouse broke the other month, I needed a new one there and then. I didn't want to grab one online and hope I just about made the deadline for next day delivery, I wanted one I knew I could have that very day.
- Delivery costs - while the savings that companies get from not running a warehouse mean that this is offset for small items (think books, dvds, play.com style) it's never going to cover the costs of a weekly shop for a large family. Sure, some people do shop for food online but you almost always have to pay more for it, and for that reason the majority of people will go to a supermarket instead of taking the online route.
- Some shops, like coffee shops, are selling the experience more than the goods. There's the social aspect, the environment, etc. - stuff that you just can't get online.
There's many more things that I can think of in this regard, but the short answer is that as things currently stand the internet won't kill off shopping in general - though it will certainly force existing shops to adapt further.
Physical shops have a number of advantages that online retailers will never be able to claim on:
- Browsing - I can easily walk through a shop and have a look at what's on offer, what sort of things they have available, and when I see something pick it up, feel it, play with it etc. I can't do that online.
- Trying things on - Clothes shopping will always have an offline advantage for trying things on. Yes, while there are sizes and I know what size I am, for some bizarre reason a pair of 40 inch shorts can be 38 inches in one place and 42 inches in the other, with no real way to tell (apart from bad experience!)
- The "have it now factor" - When my computer mouse broke the other month, I needed a new one there and then. I didn't want to grab one online and hope I just about made the deadline for next day delivery, I wanted one I knew I could have that very day.
- Delivery costs - while the savings that companies get from not running a warehouse mean that this is offset for small items (think books, dvds, play.com style) it's never going to cover the costs of a weekly shop for a large family. Sure, some people do shop for food online but you almost always have to pay more for it, and for that reason the majority of people will go to a supermarket instead of taking the online route.
- Some shops, like coffee shops, are selling the experience more than the goods. There's the social aspect, the environment, etc. - stuff that you just can't get online.
There's many more things that I can think of in this regard, but the short answer is that as things currently stand the internet won't kill off shopping in general - though it will certainly force existing shops to adapt further.
muz
Golden Master
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I completely agree , I think the internet will kill off the high streets in some of the smaller towns and cities with the help of bit superstore supermarkets but there will still always be shopping centers in big cities .clothes are a big one that I hardly ever buy online . Like you said sizes differ and so do cuts and how different clothes fit , Sure I can send them back but that involves a lot of messing about . same when im buying a mobile phone strangely enough . sure I can read reviews look at photos etc but I want to actually see the handset and have a bit of a play with it before I agree to buy it .
The other problem I have with ordering things online is that because I work full time I am never usually around to accept the delivery . If im ordering expensive items im not that friendly enough with my neighbors to trust them with accepting my deliveries either . That then means ive got to go down to the depot to collect my deliveries ,its usually closed by the time I finish work unless im on early . Id rather just wait till my day off work and go out and buy it most of the time unless I can find it a hell of a lot cheaper online .
I have only ever shopped online for food once and was honestly disappointed with my experience , a lot of the fresh stuff that was delivered was short dated and I prefer to actually go to the supermarket myself and pick my own fruit and veg etc. Also whilst they try and promote their special offers online they can never promote them online as well as they can with in store merchandising . I think food supermarkets are never going to go completely online its just ritual for too many people to go down to the supermarket and do their shopping on a particular day .
The coffee shops imo are only there because the other shops are there . I mean I live about 20 mins by bus outside of a big city center . I wouldn't travel there just to have a coffee then go home but if I travel into the center of the city to buy some clothes or something I will stop of for a coffee whilst I am there .like their locations at train stations and airports etc they are only there because the station is there nobody . Now I believe as the small town and city centers die off so will the coffee shops in these locations but they have hundreds of locations that wont die off because we will always need train stations and airports .
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