The eCommerce industry is booming more than ever, and a large number of customers are shifting to this way of shopping. Of course, a large part of this demand can be attributed to the increase in accessibility to the Internet across the globe, but that is not the only reason.
The eCommerce or e-shopping industry has a lot to offer to customers who are looking for the most convenient and right way to shop. Even if you invest extensively in marketing your eCommerce business, it is important to get your basics right.
To understand this better, let us look at the primary advantages and disadvantages of e-shopping, but for now, let’s start with the definition.
What is E-shopping?
E-shopping or eCommerce is the terminology associated with consumers shopping for products on the internet or online stores. The consumer goes online to search for the goods they want to purchase and settles on a website that sells them to complete that purchase.
Online shopping or e-shopping is no longer an alien concept that people know little about. It is now a significant contributor to the global sales volume. To be exact eCommerce or e-shopping accounted for more than 19% of global retail sales in 2023. Moreover, most people who use the Internet in any form have shopped online at least once.
So, as the penetration and accessibility to the Internet grows so does the sales volume generated by E-shopping. Even though there are plenty of things to be discussed about e-shopping and related trends, you should be firstly aware of the advantages and disadvantages of e-shopping.
What are the Advantages of E-Shopping?
On that note, let us now look at some of the primary benefits of e-shopping:
1. More Convenience
One of the primary e-shopping advantages is the added convenience this mode of shopping offers the consumers. With the help of e-shopping, customers do not have to go through the trouble of visiting any brick-and-mortar shops. Instead, customers can choose to shop from anywhere and at any time.
All they need to do is have a device to shop on and adequate access to the Internet. Basically, the things they need to access an online shopping website they can then use to shop. As a result, customers will be able to save on time and cost.
Not to forget, they won’t need to worry about taking out dedicated time to shop, as you can pick up from the point you left off your shopping at any time.
What’s more, you do not have to deal with any kind of crowds or face the inconvenience of dealing with bad weather or traffic conditions. And you can shop without the pressure of having a shopkeeper constantly pushing a product at you.
2. Access to Greater Selection
Another major advantage e-shopping offers to consumers is access to a large product catalogue spanning several varieties and brands. Unless an online store is associated with a single brand, you will find online shopping websites showcasing entire product lines by various brands that you can choose from.
Not only this, once a consumer understands the basics of how e-shopping works, they can search for any product or brand in multiple stores online. Not only this, but they will also have access to a large volume of stock considering most stores send out shipments from brand warehouses directly.
3. Access to All the Product-Related Information
One of the most important things that a consumer needs especially if they are investing in a branded or expensive product is to have enough information to make a definitive buying decision. While you will be able to expect this from brick-and-mortar stores, you do not have to worry about transparency or inadequate information when you are shopping online.
You will be able to access all the product-related information on the Internet and analyse competitors before settling on a website to shop from. You can also peruse product descriptions and even check out the products recommended by the brand on their website before arriving at an informed decision. This is one of the biggest advantages of e-shopping to consider.
4. No Pressure to Purchase Immediately
Another big advantage of e-shopping is that you do not have to make a purchase decision immediately unlike in a brick-and-mortar store. You see, in the latter, you are already at the store and depending on the convenience of getting there, you might be pressured to purchase or say no to a product on the spot.
While this is no big deal for smaller or less expensive products, if you are looking to purchase something valuable or a product that warrants more deliberation, you will find that e-shopping is the better alternative.
After all, even if you abandon the shopping journey to do some more research on the product, you can always wishlist it and complete your purchase after you have made up your mind.
5. Ability to Consider Customer Reviews
If you are an online store, you may already know the power of social proof and having a word-of-mouth marketing strategy. After all, very few things are as effective as customer reviews in determining the success of your online store.
While you can get reviews on a specific brand or store, e-shopping is the only medium wherein you will be able to see the reviews and ratings of a specific product.
Say, you spot a beautiful white linen shirt that you think would look very good on you. But you are unsure of its quality and thus about purchasing it. However, if you can see that most customers have rated the product with 5 stars and have left positive reviews about its quality, you will be convinced to buy it.
This is the power of customer reviews, which should not be taken for granted. Customers will feel more confident about their purchase and trust your brand more based on the reviews left for the product. More importantly, consumers still on the fence about trusting your store will find it more credible if they see other customers talking about shopping from it.
What Are The Disadvantages of E-Shopping?
Before you rush ahead and start wondering how to start an online business or store, you should know that there are two sides to every coin. In fact, the concept of e-shopping is much easier to understand when you have adequate knowledge of e-shopping advantages and disadvantages.
1. Protection of Consumer Data and Privacy
In today’s age, when most consumers are already convinced about the validity and merits of e-shopping, what do you think is the most significant deterrent for the people who do not shop online?
Security concerns, of course. And rightly so, considering consumers lost over 40 billion US dollars in 2022 due to online payment fraud.
Whether it is transaction fraud or the fear of privacy invasions, consumers have a lot to worry about regarding safety if they consider e-shopping. But with the right safeguards, protection mechanisms, and controls, online stores can easily prevent and mitigate most security threats.
2. Shipping Delays Can Impact Deliveries
A typical shopping cycle in a brick-and-mortar store starts when the consumer enters the store and ends with them walking out with the product or having arranged its delivery as per their convenience.
However, in an e-shopping scenario, while the cycle starts when a consumer starts browsing through the store, it ends only after the order management and fulfilment process is completed. The product is delivered to the consumer as per the turnaround times defined by the store too - one of the major disadvantages of e-shopping.
Some stores offer expedited shipping speeds that consumers can choose, but most deliveries will take place according to the typical delivery schedule set by the online store. Any kind of delays in the shipping process will impact product deliveries thus proving useless if the consumer needs the product urgently.
3. Inability to Experience Products Before Purchase
While emerging technologies are slowly bridging the gap between actual in-store experiences and virtual shopping experiences, there is plenty to be desired by consumers who want to physically assess the quality of the products they purchase.
This is especially applicable to consumers looking to buy electronic devices or consumer electronics. They might want to test it out before making a final purchase decision.
While brick-and-mortar stores allow consumers to experience the products before they buy it, e-shopping doesn’t work that way. Many online stores are elevating the user experience of their store to integrate product experience to some extent, but that aspect is still missing for the most part.
Online customers will need to place faith in the brand and go ahead with their purchase without being able to experience the product, regardless of the product category they are browsing. This can result in a misalignment between expectations and the actual product.
4. Significant Environmental Impact
While e-shopping does offer a fair amount of advantages to the parties associated with it, it is by no means an ideal medium when you consider the bigger picture. In a typical e-shopping scenario, online stores utilise an array of different transportation modes for fulfilling orders.
Depending on the mode of transport you choose for your brand, your online store will leave a noticeable trail of carbon footprint. Whether it is a fleet of trucks, ships or airplanes, the fuel utilised by the vehicles will have a major environmental impact due to the distance they may end up travelling.
Not to forget, the packaging of your item will use up a lot of materials that may have a negative environmental impact too. Most companies utilise a lot of plastic and cardboard packaging, which contributes to a lot of unnecessary waste.
5. Risk of Getting Scammed
The fear of falling victim to a security threat on an online shopping website is a major challenge in itself. But at least in these situations, you can tell yourself that the online store has no control over it to console yourself.
But consumers may also find themselves in a situation where the website they are shopping from turns out to be a fake or malicious one. There are plenty of websites like that - they look authentic at first glance but are fake stores meant to deceive unsuspecting customers.
Another form of such a scam is in terms of the products. A lot of online stores have products that may seem authentic based on their description and appearance. But the product you receive may turn out to be different or much lower in quality. In either case, you will end up wasting all the money you spend on any transaction.
Concluding Remarks
As a consumer, you can experience more benefits than challenges when you opt for e-shopping. You can not only browse through an extensive product catalogue and conduct comprehensive comparisons, but you can also do all of that at your convenience. However, every consumer will balance the advantages and disadvantages of e-shopping before going ahead with a purchase.
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